[Reviews - 93]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 2982 times

- Text Size +




Chapter 29

She ran, lungs burning, legs aching, head pounding, feet slamming against the concrete as flew down the street, clad in wedding dress and sensible shoes. The moment she’d realized her children were missing, she’d rushed out of the house, turned one way, ran as fast as she could, while Spike went the other way. Willow and Xander had stayed behind with Dawn, though Willow was focusing on trying to track the kidnappers with her mind. However, she found that she was unable.

She knew she was getting nowhere, but she couldn’t stop running, couldn’t stop, because if she did, she’d realized she’d just failed her family. She’d failed worse than she ever had before.

Passing cars slowed, some just so the passengers could stare, some so they could ask if she needed help. But she couldn’t hear them. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and when she finally slowed enough to let her thoughts sink in, she doubled over, vomiting in the street.

This isn’t happening. Wake up, Buffy. Wake up. You’re dreaming. Wake up. She retched again, clutching her stomach, and soon, she was still, standing there, looking down the road, listening for any signs of her children. It was silent. Nothing but the distant hum of cars of the highway filled the air.

A car pulled up next to her, and she knew who it was.

“Buffy. Get in the car.”

“No.”

“We’re going to the police,” Xander pointed out.

“Dawn?”

“She’s coming to. She didn’t see anybody. They came at her from behind. Come on. We’re going to go back home. Willow’s on the phone with the cops right now.”

“Xander, you know as well as I do that the cops can’t help. The children of a Slayer go missing? No, I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

“Luv,” Spike said from the driver’s seat. Xander sat in the back, looking pleadingly at his friend.

“Come on. We’re going to go home and wait for the cops.”

“Our babies, Spike. They’re just…they’re just gone.”

“And we’re going to get them back.” She could hear the uncertainty and the fear in his voice. He was just as scared as she was, but she was standing here in the middle of the road next to a puddle of vomit, wearing her wedding dress that was starting to cling to her skin from the sweat. “Buffy,” Spike said gently. “We’re wasting time, luv. Let’s get in the car and go back and wait for the police. Right now, we don’t have any other option.” Buffy’s throat was dry, and she clutched at her dress. Finally, she turned and walked around the car, numbly getting in the passenger’s side.

“I need your cell phone,” she said quietly.

“What for?” He handed it over to her, and she began to dial.

“I’m calling Angel.”

“What?” But Buffy said no more. She listened to the other line ring, and finally, she heard his voice.

“Hello?”

“Angel, it’s me.”

“Buffy?”

“I need you to be honest with me,” she said calmly, as if she were giving an order to a fellow Slayer.

“Okay…what’s going on?”

“Isabella and Beckett were kidnapped, and I need you to tell me nobody you know had anything to do with it.”

“Buffy, why would you think that…”

“You run Wolfram and Hart. We were there, and everyone knew about the pregnancy. Was anybody missing today?”

“No…no, I can have Fred double check, but I think everyone was accounted for. You…you said they were kidnapped?”

“Somebody got into the house, knocked out Dawn and took them out of their stroller, Angel. On my wedding day. While we were outside. They took them, Angel.” Angel closed his eyes, painfully reliving the moment Connor was taken out of his life, forever changing their entire lives.

“I’ll look into it. I‘ll be in touch, alright?” Buffy said nothing. She only hung up the phone, letting it drop silently in her lap. Xander placed his hand on her shoulder from the backseat.

“We’ll find them, Buffy. We will.”

“This isn’t some mission…some patrol at the graveyard, Xander. These are my kids, and whoever has them knows they’re mine. They know they’re Spike’s. They know about the prophecy.”

“The prophecy’s gone, luv,” Spike assured her.

“But they know they’re important. They might know more than we know.” Spike took his wife’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

“We’re going to get them back. I swear to God, Buffy. And I will spend the rest of my life making the son of a bitch who took them pay for what he did.” Buffy closed her eyes, and she leaned forward in her seat, burying her face in her hands. But the tears didn’t come. They were frozen, just as she felt right now.

***

Dawn sat still in the living room, as the cops walked out the front door. There was no trace of anybody, or anything that could have come in and taken the kids. Who could have slipped in and out without disturbing anything, knocked Dawn out, and taken the babies without anybody knowing? Somebody with skill in stealth, certainly.

Buffy sat across from Dawn, neither speaking, both stunned, numb, unable to form words.

Spike was pacing back and forth on the phone, talking to Giles. Buffy was shocked into silence, and Willow was still trying to get some kind of feeling about who had been in the house, but she was coming up short at every angle.

“Just an hour ago,” Spike said urgently. “If you find anything, let us know. No. Don’t worry about the time. Don’t think anybody’ll be sleeping tonight.” He hung up the phone, placing it down on the table. He continued to pace. He was only quiet for a moment, before he started for the door.

“Whoa, where are you going?” Xander asked.

“I have to do something. They’re getting further away the longer we sit here.”

“They had to have come here for a reason. I’m sure we’ll hear from them.”

“By then it could be too late,” Spike insisted. His eyes were full of fear and worry, and Xander wondered if he was going to start crying. His jaw was tense, and his entire body seemed to be trembling.

“Look,” Xander whispered so only Spike could hear, “I’ll go out and look. Just…” He looked over his shoulder to see Buffy on the verge of breaking down. She wasn’t going to do it, though. She was going to fight it back, and for the meantime, she was going to win. “Go sit with her. I’ll go. Just…she needs somebody, and I think you’re the only one that can help her.” You’re the only one who can ever help her, he thought. Spike finally gave in and went to join Buffy on the couch. Xander moved over to crouch in front of Buffy. “I’ll be back, alright? I’m going to go look.” She only continued staring ahead.

Turning to Dawn, Xander placed his hand on her knee. “Are you alright?”

“This is my fault.”

“No, Dawn. It’s not,” Xander whispered. “You were just being a good aunt and taking care of them.”

“He’s right, Nibblet,” Spike said softly, pulling his arm around Buffy. She didn’t make a move to lean into his embrace. She only continued staring ahead, much like she had after Glory had taken Dawn. Not moving. Not feeling. Not responding at all. Only he knew she was feeling. She was feeling a lot of things, only she couldn’t express them. Not yet. “Nobody blames you, pet.” Dawn looked at Buffy, her own eyes already spilling over with tears. She wiped her eyes and shook her head.

“I don’t think that’s true,” she whispered. With that, she tore herself away from the living room and ran up the stairs to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

***

He peered into the small, bright room, where the two tiny infants cried for their mother. He felt a slight pang in his heart, feeling as if this was wrong, but he quickly shook away the feeling, knowing this was his job. This had to be done, because nobody else was going to do it.

“Sir, everything’s ready.”

“The witch?”

“She’s starting the spell now.”

“Alright.”

“Sir, we…we don’t have to do this.” He turned on his heels to face his employee.

“You don’t get to say those kinds of things, Thomas. I say those things, but I can’t say them now. This has to be done.”

“Yes, but she’s the Slayer, Sir. Eventually, she’s going to find us.”

“I’ll deal with that if the time comes.” He turned back to the window, and he closed his eyes. “It’s what’s best. Deep down, as a slayer, she knows that.”

“But as a mother, Sir? Do you really think she’s going to care about what you think’s best?”

“I don’t expect she will, Thomas. That’s why we’re doing this now. That’s why we’ve been plotting this since the moment we learned she was carrying half-breed children.”

“But they’re not…”

“I need to know for sure,” he replied. “I need to know…” The room began to tremble, and the two men made their way to into the next room. Thomas stood back to watch his boss pick up both children in his arms. “It’s for the best.” Thomas nodded slowly and opened to large, steel doors, revealing bright, crackling light sparkling about the room, as a vortex began to spin around and around in the center of the room before gaping wide open, inviting them in.

The room was so loud words were almost inaudible, but Thomas leaned in to hear his boss ask at the top of his voice if the witch knew to leave the portal open long enough. With a nod from Thomas, he stepped forward, a screaming infant in each arm, and was pulled instantly into the vortex, disappearing from the room in a flash.

***

“I knew,” Buffy whispered, as she and Spike sat on the back porch, looking out into the black night, looking toward the spot where just a few hours ago, they had been so happy, so ready to start a new life together. Now, it was cold, and thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance.

“What?”

“I knew something was going to happen. Something bad,” she whispered, “but I blew it off, because the dreams went away.”

“What dreams?” Spike asked.

“Before the babies. I had dreams, and you were warning me that someone was coming.”

“Buffy, that could have been about…”

“I think it was about this,” she whispered. “I…I know it was. I can feel it. And now we have no way of knowing where they are.”

“We’re going to find them, luv. I know we will.” Buffy shook her head, which felt so heavy and full. “Giles is working on it, Angel too. Xander’s been out looking, and Willow…”

“The police didn’t know anything, and I don’t think they ever will.” She closed her eyes. “They’re just gone, Spike. They’re gone. One minute, they were sleeping, and Dawn was taking them to their room, and the next…”

“Try not to think about it, luv.”

“It’s all I can think about!” Buffy snapped. “I haven’t felt this helpless since…since my mom got sick. I need to do something, but I can’t, and I don’t even know how to start trying…” Spike squeezed her hand, kissing her temple.

“It’s gonna be alright, luv.”

“How can you be so calm? They’re your kids too!”

“Buffy, I’m not calm. I’m far from calm, but losing my senses isn’t going to help get us out of this.”

“You know,” Buffy whispered flatly, “when you were a vampire, you’d already be hot on their trail.” She stood up, dusting pants off. “I miss that.” She turned and headed into the house, leaving Spike to his thoughts.

Maybe she’s right. What’s the good of having strength if I can’t track, if I can’t hunt, if I can’t be useful to her when she needs me now? He sat thinking for a few more minutes before deciding that he knew what he needed to do. He needed to find the low lives and get some answers from them. Maybe a demon or a vampire would have some clues. The only thing was, he was mortal now, and despite his strength, he could still be killed, and despite his new wife’s incredible physical and emotional strength, he wasn’t sure she could take losing her husband and her children in one day.

He went out to the shed along the fence out back, and he opened up the padlock, pulled out two stakes, a small double sided axe, and a bottle of holy water. He was going to find his children if it took the last breath in his body to do it.





You must login (register) to review.