Chapter 9, Part 1
“Don’t move,” Snyder pointed his shotgun at Buffy and Spike. “Don’t move!” he repeated when Spike put Buffy behind him.
“Ain’t this sweet!” Snyder added sarcastically. “Get away from him, young lady.”
“Do as ‘e says, luv,” Spike said, without taking his eyes off Snyder.
Buffy took the rest of her clothes on her arms and with a scared look towards Spike, she got up from the blanket, moving closer to the crypt’s door.
“You, get up!” Snyder said with contempt. “And come over here, Taylor!” Spike got up from the blanket and moved to where the warden had pointed him to. “You move or talk and you’re screwed. I always took you for a runner, just never expected you to run with no clothes on,” Snyder sneered, moving towards Buffy and still pointing his shotgun at Spike, he asked her, “Did this… boy inflict any bodily harm to you? Did he abuse your body?”
“No!” Buffy answered, offended by the warden’s suggestions.
“Are ya crazy!” Spike yelled at the same time.
“What are you doing here?” Buffy asked Snyder. “I love him.”
“Oh, well,” Snyder said moving backwards until he had them both on his line of sight as he pointed the flashlight towards Buffy and the shotgun at Spike. “That means you’re in a lot of trouble, too, girl.”
“Get the flashlight off ‘er,” Spike whispered threateningly.
“Shut up, kid.”
“Does lookin’ at youn’ girls turn ya on?” Spike said trying to make Snyder focus back on him.
“Shut up!”
“Never seen a naked girl before?” Spike goaded.
“You’re going down, Taylor!”
“Run, Buffy, run!” Spike yelled as Snyder moved closer to him. Spike pushed him towards the wall, trying to contain the furious warden while Buffy escaped from the crypt.
Buffy ran out of the crypt, holding her clothes in her hands, looking backwards to check if Spike is coming after her when she suddenly heard someone shouting, “Freeze!”
She turned to the front and saw the police car with its front lights blinding her and fell to the ground, crying, “Oh, no, no, no, this can’t be happening.”
“Young lady, you have come with me now,” an officer said kindly as he helped Buffy get up from the ground and into the car.
Meanwhile inside the crypt, Snyder had gained the upper hand quite fast. He was surprisingly strong and had managed to corner Spike after Buffy had left the crypt. Spike was bloodied and bruised and could hardly keep on his feet when Snyder put the shotgun on his temple and said, “It’s over, Taylor.”
Resigned to his fate, Spike closed his eyes, recalling the image of Buffy so that it was the last thing he’d see before Snyder pulled the trigger, when suddenly a voice was heard just outside the crypt, “You alright there, Mr. Snyder?” Spike opened his eyes and saw the warden’s inner battle as he tried to decide if he should go on and kill Spike or if he should answer. “Sir? Are you alright in there?” the voice asked again, seemingly closer than a while ago, taking the decision out of Snyder’s hands.
Spike exhaled a relieved sigh when the warden put down his gun and whispered angrily, “You were saved by the bell, boy, but not for long…”
Back at the School, around 3:00 am
Sister Harriet was waiting for Buffy on the front lobby steps of the school when she got out of the police car. As if Buffy needed any more evidence that she was in a lot of trouble, the nun’s scowl convinced her that only a miracle would save her from being packed up and sent over to the new boarding school in Geneva faster than she could ever imagine.
How was she going to survive without knowing what happened to Spike? That odious little man could have done anything to him. All their dreams and plans lay shattered on the floor of that crypt. After being discovered – especially like that – there simply was no way they’d be able to escape now.
Her eyes filled with tears as she followed Sister Harriet towards Sister Victoria’s office. What was she going to do now?
The nun stopped right in front of the door and knocked once. “Come in,” Sister Victoria said motioning for Buffy to sit while she continued to talk on the phone.
“Yes, Mr. Summers. She’ll be ready… I know and I’m sorry for whatever inconveniences this might have caused… I’ll see you then, have a good night.”
Buffy rolled her eyes inwardly; it was just her luck that it had to be precisely this time that her parents could’ve been reached so easily.
The headmistress finally hung the phone up and turned towards Buffy, saying, “Elizabeth, as you might have heard, your parents are coming to get you later today,” at Buffy’s surprised expression, she added. “They took an early flight because they wanted to spend some time with you before you began your classes in Geneva; but after this unfortunate episode, well… let’s just say they’re as disappointed over your behavior as I am…” Buffy winced under the disapproving glare Sister Victoria sent her way.
Buffy had been trying to control the anger that grew inside her with each word the nun uttered. How dared she try to reduce their relationship to a mere episode? She knew she would only make things worse if she tried to explain all that she’d been through and how much Spike meant to her to Sister Victoria, so she kept quiet with her eyes cast downward while the head mistress went on and on with her tirade against Spike, until she heard...
“However, you were always a model student and never gave us any trouble during your stay in this school, until now; so, in deference to that and to your parents, I have decided that this incident would not be added into your file. I don’t want this indiscretion to ruin your life, Elizabeth. Especially when I’m sure you must have been coaxed into this by that-that… delinquent. There’s no way that a well-raised girl like you are would degrade herself…” the nun trailed when Buffy suddenly stood up, fire burning in her eyes as she gritted her teeth.
“Now, wait a minute, Sister Victoria,” Buffy whispered threateningly. “First of all, Spike is not a delinquent and I didn’t degrade myself in any way by doing what I did! I’m in love with him and I will do everything I can to be with him. He’s shown me more love and caring in the short time since we’ve met than you or even my parents ever have shown me in my entire life. I definitely won’t give him or that up. And I don’t care if you tell my parents all this and they lock me in this new golden jail they’re sending me to and throw away the key; because, mark my words, Spike and I will be together, one way or the other, today, or in ten years, and I won’t rest until we are,” Buffy finished, glaring at the headmistress who seemed like she was about to have a stroke, before turning on her heels and leaving the office as she headed to her room.
Once she got inside her room, she leaned on the door and unable to contain herself any longer, she silently began to cry as she crumbled down onto the floor.
Willow, who was still awake and had been waiting for Buffy’s return, quickly got up from her bed and gathered her friend in her arms, asking, “What happened, Buffy? Why are you like this? Please, tell me something, anything. You’re scaring me.”
“Oh, Will!” Buffy threw her arms around the redhead. “H-he discovered us in the crypt and they’re coming for me today a-and I don’t know what he did to Spike,” she cried almost hysterically.
“Wait a minute, take a deep breath,” Willow said and smiled when Buffy did as she was told. “Good girl, now let’s try again.”
After a few shaky attempts, finally Buffy managed to tell Willow all that happened since she got to the crypt up until her talk with Sister Victoria.
“Oh, Buffy, don’t worry, I’m sure Spike will be fine,” Willow tried to comfort her. “And hey, maybe he managed to escape?”
“I doubt it, Will. I’m afraid of what that horrible man can do to him. He acted… I don’t know how to explain it. He seemed strange, crazy even. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone show that much hatred for somebody else before tonight and that’s what scares me, what if he hurt Spike after I left? How would I find out if something did happen if I’m locked up in the school in Geneva?” she asked, taking Willow’s hands in hers pleadingly. “Will, please, you have to promise me that you’ll try to find out what happened to him and find a way to let me know. I’d just die if I don’t know. Promise me, Will.”
“I promise, Buffy. I promise,” her friend said as Buffy clung to her once more. “Now you have to promise me you’ll try to sleep for a bit. We’ll figure what to do in the morning.”
Honor Camp, around 3:00 am
Xander anxiously peeked through the window facing the camp’s main entrance. He had slept restlessly for about two hours only to wake up suddenly when the feeling that something had gone very wrong settled over him. He recalled Angel’s infuriating behavior before the lights went off. The brunette had been bragging to the Demons about how Spike was finally going to go down. At the moment, neither Spike nor he really thought much of the comment, as Angel was always trying to play mind games with them, but now… now that Spike still hadn’t returned to the barracks and Watley wasn’t in his post either – which in itself was preoccupying – he had more reasons to worry.
He snapped out of his reverie when he noticed that Snyder’s jeep and a police car had stopped in front of the Isolation Cells’ Building. He waited with baited breath until he saw Snyder practically tear Spike out from the back of the police car.
“Damn!” Xander whispered. “What the hell are we gonna do now? Think, Xander, think,” he pondered as he kept watching what was happening in the other extreme of the Camp.
“I got him,” the warden said to the deputies as he grabbed Spike’s arm and pushed him towards the building. “Move!” Snyder exclaimed as he kept pushing Spike until the blond tripped and fell down at Robin Wood's feet.
“Argh!” Spike exclaimed as he lost his footing.
The deputy clenched his jaw as he tried to rein in his temper after he noticed how bruised and bloodied Spike was. Snyder had no right to treat the boys like that, no matter what they’d done.
“Look who’s back,” Snyder said mockingly.
“Stupid boy, you could have been out of here in a few months,” Wood told Spike as he helped him get up.
“He’s gonna be out sooner than that now; he’ll be transferred to the State Penitentiary in the morning,” Snyder sneered as he grabbed Spike’s arm again and pushed him inside the building. “Move, Taylor! I ain’t got all night.”
Wood shook his head as he looked at the scene with a heavy heart. He’d never agreed with Snyder’s way of treating the boys and it had only turned worse as time went by, the way he’d hunted Forrest and then Spike proved that the warden was a dangerous and unstable man and that he’d have to do something about it before things got completely out of hand. He dreaded to think what would happen if it did.
Still at the camp, around 5:30 am
A man ran through the camp until he reached the back of the Isolation Cells’ building.
Spike sat on his bunk with his back leaning against the wall as he wallowed in self-pity recalling the events that had led to him being locked up in a confinement cell. He couldn’t forget how scared Buffy looked before she ran away from the crypt. He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself for putting her in danger in his desire to be near her. God! He’d give anything for a fag at that moment! Or anything really that could help him keep his mind occupied and stop him from feeling the mind-numbing terror that was creeping in his heart at the thought of never seeing Buffy again.
He nervously passed his hands over his hair over and over, until it became a mess of unruly curls, as he said to himself, “No, Spike, don’t think like that. There ‘as to be a way. Ya can’t admit defeat so easily, ya can’t lose Buffy and most definitely ya can’t let Snyder win. There’s gotta be a way.” But what if when he found that way it was too late? What if Buffy had been caught by the cops and sent to her school? What if her parents came for her and took her to that Geneva School she’d been mentioning? What then?
He was so lost in his musings that he hadn’t noticed that some of the wood boards from the floor were being moved until he heard, “Is it time for the plan?”
“Bloody ‘ell, mate! Ya almost gave me a ‘eart attack!” Spike whispered. “What are ya doin’ ‘ere? Aren’t ya gonna get in trouble for this?”
“Don’t worry about that,” Xander shrugged. “Now let’s go before anyone notices or else we’ll both be in trouble.”
Silently Spike and Xander crawled from beneath the building and ran towards the further end of the Honor Camp where the car shop was located in order to retrieve the Mustang.
When they got to the shed, Spike took the car’s distributor cap off from its hiding place and put it on the car. In the meantime, Xander had put some gasoline in the tank and when they both were done, Spike climbed on the driver’s seat.
“What the hell happened tonight?” Xander asked.
“Same question I’ve been askin’ myself, mate. Snyder somehow found out that Buffy ‘n I were gonna meet at the crypt ‘n ‘e caught us there. As you might ‘ave realized by ‘ow my face must look, ‘e wasn’t ‘appy.”
“Yeah, he did quite the number on you. So, what happened to Buffy?”
“I don’t know. We ‘ave to find ‘er ‘n take ‘er with us.”
“I have some things for you,” Xander said as he handed Spike a duffel bag, which he took, before throwing it on the backseat.
“Let’s get out of ‘ere. It’s almost dawn,” Spike said as he started the car. “Are ya ready?”
“I’m not going,” Xander answered.
“What the bleedin’ ‘ell do ya mean ya’re not going?” Spike exclaimed as he turned off the car and got out to face his friend.
“I’m not going,” Xander repeated. “It’s just that I just have a couple of months left here, Spike, and then I’ll be off to Harvard. If I go with you that just won’t happen… ever. You understand that, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I understand, mate. But this was your plan all alon’ ‘n I wouldn’t ‘ave made it this far without ya,” Spike said, a crestfallen look on his face. “I-we need ya.”
“No, you don’t need me,” Xander replied. “I mean, you did for a while, but you don’t now,” he added, taking a folded piece of paper out of his shirt. “C’mon, take it. C’mon, man,” he said when Spike hesitated until he finally took it and opening it he saw the escape map. “You just have to follow the map and do exactly as we planned and I promise someday I’ll find you, okay?”
Spike nodded, “Okay but I’ll miss ya, mate.”
“I’ll miss you, too. But we will see each other again, I’m sure of that. And hey, at least you’ll have an address where you could find me. Once you and Buffy are settled somewhere and it’s safe for you, you’ve gotta write to me, ok?” Xander said almost in tears.
“Right, I promise to do that. ‘N once it’s safe, ya’ll ‘ave to come visit us, ok?
“Nothing will stop me, Spike. Now go,” Xander said smiling widely. “It’s not polite to make a lady wait.”
“Thanks again, mate. I’ll never forget what ya did for us,” Spike said as he pulled Xander into a crushing embrace. He climbed into the car again and after he started it, he drove out of shed and into the night like a bat out of hell after waving good-bye to Xander.
He had a promise to keep.
tbc