The Slayer dusted yet another vamp and looked up to the burning red sky. When did my life turn into ‘Apocalypse Now-and-Forever-More’? The past two months had held nothing but death, plain and simple. Death in the Council, death among the Slayers, death spread far and wide, claiming hundreds – if not thousands – of civilians.
Los Angeles was literally Hell On Earth. Well, more so than it had been since hordes of fame-seeking starlets had begun to converge on the city decades ago. Now it was the literal fire and brimstone type of Hell. Last week giant tentacles had slid out of the red sky, á la Hellboy.
Another vamp rushed her, equally dim-witted as the last one, falling beneath her skilled hand just as quickly. Several homeless people cheered her on from the sidewalk as she dispatched yet another bloodsucker. Right here, in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard, evil had decided to talk another stab at her. Demons roamed the streets, humans ran like animals trying to avoid enslavement. Certain “Lords” ruled parts of the city with iron fists. Hell in a dainty little hand basket.
A little ways up the street two scaly demons converged on a tall girl dressed in black. Buffy scooped up a broadsword from the pavement where she had dropped it earlier and raced towards the confrontation. “Nadia!” she called, and tossed the weapon through the air. The other Slayer caught it in mid-air and proceeded to hack the limbs off both demons.
As both beings fell, the two Slayers made eye contact for a split second before turning to scan the street. Besides the small camp of homeless people who had established themselves at the side of an office building, the area was clear. “Thanks honey,” a toothless lady called as she waved.
“You people need a place to stay?” Buffy asked.
The lady shook her head. “Oh no, we’ll be fine. You two take care of yourselves now.”
“You know where to find us,” Buffy called as she and Nadia turned away. The group clustered in their makeshift houses waved and returned to their conversation.
“I vill never get used to these.” Nadia shook her head.
“I know,” Buffy replied. “At least in Sunnydale the locals had enough sense to be stupid and ignore all the demons.”
“I doubt that even the people of Sunnydale would be able ignore all this.” The Russian Slayer nodded up at the blood-red sky.
Buffy shrugged. “Massacres in the middle of graduation, mass laryngitis, spontaneous combustion due to tap dancing …” Nadia’s eyebrows shot up. “Yeah, ignorant in an extreme fashion.”
As the two turned the corner a dark blue van came into view. On the van’s roof sat a young woman with long curly brown hair. As Buffy and Nadia approached she waved one arm in the air, cradling a crossbow in the other. “What’d you find?” Erin asked as she slid off the roof and popped open the back doors.
“Few vamps, scaly demons, puff of smoke with a case of the chuckles.” Buffy watched as Nadia tossed her broadsword in the back of the van, then climbed in herself. Erin dug a set of keys out of her pants pocket. “Have you heard from the others?”
Erin nodded. “Called in ‘bout three minutes ago. They’re on their way in.”
Satisfied with this information Buffy walked to the passenger side of the van and hopped in, waiting for Erin the get behind the wheel before saying quietly, “What about the other squad?”
The other girl’s angular features fixed themselves into a grimace before meeting her superior’s gaze. “They haven’t checked in at HQ for an hour and a half.”
A tiny jolt of panic ran down Buffy’s spine. It’s okay, temporal disturbances mess up the signals all the time, she reassured herself. She took a deep breath and gaze out the window. The sun and the moon hung together in a crimson sky, casting bizarre shadows through the streets. A pair of figures in black began to rise over the crest of the hill in front of the van’s windshield. As they grew closer, the black hair of both figures glinted in the golden light of the sun. Buffy nodded a greeting to the newly arrived Slayers as they circled the van and jumped in the back with Nadia. The thunk of the back doors slamming shut signaled Erin, and she gunned the motor to life.
Once the van had moved onto the main road the two new Slayers began to converse quietly in Mandarin. They were recent arrivals from the Hong Kong branch, spoke little English, and made it clear that they were here for one thing and one thing only – to destroy the evil running rampant on L.A.’s streets. Buffy sighed and continued to stare out the passenger side window, trying to remember how simple life had been when the world had been that black and white in her eyes.
Erin lifted a handheld radio from the dashboard and spoke into it. “Base, this Alpha Team. Come in.”
A crackled voice sounded from the radio’s speaker. “This is Base. Alpha Team, what’s your position? Over.”
“We’re on Hollywood Boulevard, done our sweep. Headed back home. Over.”
“Great, we’ll see you in a while. Over.”
Buffy felt Erin hesitate momentarily, shifting a glance in her position. “Any info on Beta Team? Over.” Buffy’s breath caught in her throat for a second, and the Slayer’s chattering from the back of the van can to an abrupt halt.
Seconds past before the voice responded. “Not yet, Alpha. We’ll let you know if we hear anything. Over.”
“See you in thirty. Over and out.” Erin sighed, then chucked the radio receiver back onto the dashboard. “Damn,” she muttered under her breath.
Buffy folded her arms across her chest and tucked her legs up in front of her, the soles of her boots making squeech noises against the vinyl of the car seat. A trickle of dread made its way down Buffy’s spine and settled deep in her belly. This did not bode well. Radio communication was a necessity when any team was out on the streets, it was a strict rule that no one ever argued.
As the van sped back to the base, the conversation behind Buffy picked up again. Though she couldn’t tell what they were saying, the Chinese Slayers spoke in hushed, urgent tones. Erin tapped the steering wheel nervously, and Nadia began to fiddle with and inspect the weapons. None of them engaged Buffy, who continued to stare out the vehicle’s windows.
~~~~~
The gates to the compound were being opened just as the van pulled up.
Immediately after their arrival in L.A. the Council had decided that in order to house all their personnel and any assorted hangers-on, they were going to need a lot of space. Fortunately, and somewhat ironically, deserted buildings were now as plentiful as homeless people in the city.
The private hospital had a pre-existing wall that surrounded the perimeter and wrought iron gates that had easily been reinforced. Spirals of barbed wire now topped the high stone wall, even though any creature would be hard pressed to pass the warding and barrier spells that had been erected just outside the perimeter.
Erin pulled the van into the ambulance bay and killed the engine. Buffy climbed out and scanned the area – the other team’s van was absent. Several Slayers were approaching from hospital doors, ready to help Buffy’s team unload the van and check the weapons for damage.
Buffy entered the hospital and immediately headed for the command center. As per usual the hallways were crowded with broken equipment and stragglers, civilians they had managed to rescue during the Council’s time in L.A. Normally these people were told to keep to the large rooms on the ground floor of the east wing near the cafeteria, but they had a habit of straying and getting under foot.
A toddler started shrieking as Buffy passed, demanding his “ba-ba” and clinging to his mother. As much as the noise grated on the Slayer’s nerves, she had to acknowledge that having a small amount of normalcy in the hospital – even that provided by screaming children and worried adults – kept everybody grounded.
The main atrium area – command central – was buzzing with activity. Computer monitors glowed in the semi-dark of the large, dim room; the high windows had been boarded up. Buffy made her way to the main bank of computers where three figures stood watching a single screen.
Vi and Rona looked up as the lead Slayer approached. The other woman did not acknowledge Buffy’s presence.
“Hey,” Vi greeted quietly. Rona nodded and returned her attention to the screen mounted high on the wall. It showed several humans and demons huddled around the backdoor of a warehouse. The camera was mounted high on the roof of another building, so the view was slanted and distant, allowing for little clarity of what the group was doing. As Buffy watched the screen began to fuzz with static.
A noise of disgust echoed from the woman on Rona’s left. Her pale face was set in an expression of annoyance and her eyes sparkled in the half-light of the room. Even without moving, her clothes seemed to sway in a non-existent breeze and the dark hair framing her face eased back of its own accord.
“Your work is incompetent and juvenile.” Jun spoke without removing her eyes from the monitor, keeping the figures moving there in her vision. Buffy glared at the women as if daring her to go on. Never one to back down, Jun finally turned to Buffy and fixed her with a cold stare. “Your Slayers do not check mission outlines, and they perform sub-standard work. That surveillance equipment should have been properly set up and checked for efficiency before –”
“Hey, not everyone can just poof!demons away when they’re about to eat us! We have to actually stop what we’re doing and fight the motherfu–” Rona abruptly stopped talking when Buffy held up a hand.
Buffy was not in the mood for one of Li Jun’s rants on the finer points of Slayerhood. Or Rona’s bitchiness. “Listen, Jun.” The women became still. The Slayer regarded her with a look of determination. “I know that you have all these theories on me being a horrible leader and my girls lacking discipline …” Jun opened her mouth but Buffy continued before she could reply. “… But I don’t have time for you trying to be the boss of us. You’re not. I am. Simple as that. You want to do something useful? Find our missing squad. Everyone!”
Buffy ignored Li Jun’s outraged expression and turned to face the majority of people in the room. They all pause to listen to the General. “We’ve got a got a squad out there MIA. I want everyone to concentrate on finding them and bringing them home.” With a nod she dismissed the group of Slayers and operatives and turned back to the three women beside her. “Do a locator spell on the van,” she ordered Jun curtly before heading back towards the main hallway. There was silence for several seconds before Rona shouted, “You heard her.”
The hum of chatter grew again as Buffy left the room. After a moment she became aware that Vi was still at her side. The head Slayer allowed herself a small smile at Vi’s loyalty before she sighed and turned toward the ambulance bay.
“Buffy, go to bed.” The order shocked her and Buffy looked at Vi disbelievingly. The redhead stood with her hands in the pockets of her blue jeans, a firm smile on her face.
“Huh?”
Vi moved forward and held out a hand, palm upturned. She looked Buffy straight in the eye. “Give me your weapons and go upstairs. Sleep.”
Buffy’s brow furrowed in confusion. Screw loyalty, this borders on mutiny. “What? I’ve got a missing squad, a witch who wants me ousted from command –”
“And you’re running on six hours of rest in the last two days. Go sleep.”
Vi reached forward slightly, emphasizing her ‘gimme’ gesture towards the scabbard at Buffy’s hip. Buffy herself was holding her ground.
“No. I have to find …”
“He would want you to sleep,” Vi said gently.
Buffy froze, because she knew Vi was right.
“He would be dragging you upstairs and getting you supper and making sure that you are in top condition because we don’t know what is coming tomorrow and you can’t face that exhausted and hungry and you know it. So go to sleep. Hell will be here when you wake up.”
There was a split second where Buffy considered fighting back, but the fire in Vi’s eyes silenced her. Damn, the girl had come a long way from the nervous child she’d been in Sunnydale.
Buffy closed her eyes briefly and let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. Dread still coiled in the pit of her stomach, making her limbs cold and her palms clammy.
“I’ll come get you the minute we hear anything definite,” Vi reassured her.
She looked the other girl in the face and unclipped the scabbard from her waist. Grudgingly she handed it over and turned in the direction of the main stair case. “You tell me …”
“… The instant we hear anything.” Vi gave Buffy a gentle push and watched her walk away.
The head Slayer began to feel the weight of her sore muscles as she climbed to the fifth and top floor of the hospital. At the end of the corridor she turned into her room and closed the door behind her. She began peeling off her grubby patrol clothes, striping until only her underwear remained. Lifting a worn black t-shirt from the floor, Buffy quickly inhaled its scent then slipped it on. She kicked the dirty clothes into the existing pile in the corner and slumped onto the bed; two hospital mattresses that had been pushed together on the floor.
The night was hot so she pulled only a thin sheet over her form. The clock mounted on the far wall read 03:52. Hospital time. Military time. She was in charge of an army now, everyone spoke in military terms.
As hard as she tried Buffy was unable to sleep. Fear still chilled her to the core and even the familiar smell of the sheets didn’t calm her. An hour of restless movements on the bed passed before Buffy heard the telltale sound of the front gates opening. Headlights flashed against the side of the building, casting rapid shadows against the walls of the bedroom.
Ten minutes later footfalls sounded in the corridor. It was then that she finally allowed herself to let go of the fear that clung to her. Rolling onto her back, Buffy stared at the ceiling and waited for the door handle to be turned.
~TBC~
Author's Chapter Notes:
Okay, so this is my second attempt at fanfic. I posted the first chapter of a fic and received awesome reviews, but the plot jumped forward too quickly in my head and I have a sequel planned without an actual Part 1, so I’m trying to get it all figured out. *Sigh* I thought I’d try something that is running laps around my skull lately and hope that I’m more motivated to finish it. I am looking for a beta so if anyone wants to volunteer I would be eternally grateful. This first chapter is has not been looked-over by anyone other than myself so please forgive any spelling mistakes.
Chapter End Notes:
Who’s at the door? I think you can all figure it out. Please be nice and leave a review. It would really make my day.