Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Death was always the beginning of things wasn’t it? Or was that life? It’s always hard to tell when you’ve died more than once...
The sun was blaring with warmth and light. The Californian terrain was typical, a desert with bushes and a few trees, far off hills that could be mistaken for mountains and a general feel of dryness. The air was cool and the breeze was gentle with hardly a cloud in the sky, typical weather like any other day in a place that hardly rains or changes seasons even. The thing that wasn’t typical under the intense morning sun was the large crater that had once been a city only a few moments before. The city of Sunnydale was no longer.
On the rim of the crater were a solitary yellow school bus and a small group of people, mostly young and female. At the front of the group, on the very edge of where the land suddenly drops, was a short woman with beautiful blonde hair, a little oddly shaped nose and green eyes that spoke of unimaginable pain. She held herself with confidence and authority, as if she was a leader and a warrior. Her gaze was focused on the crater. Her thoughts, what she had lost and what she had gained this morning, were overwhelming her.
“Buffy!” A younger girl with long light brown hair called to her.
Buffy turned ever so slightly. “Get in the bus Dawn, I’ll be right there.”
The rest of the small group was getting back onto the bus, ready to go to their next destination. The group had suffered injuries and needed care. Instead of making plans on their next move, the group knew they needed to seek medical attention. Buffy knew she had to get moving, that she couldn’t stay much longer. Unwillingly her thoughts drifted to the events that had happened over the last seven years in the city that now was no more. The graves of her mother and friends were down in the crater. Her home was gone; her future was a blank slate. She had perhaps a hopeful future of moving on from past hurts. All because of Spike, the vampire who loved her, whom she loved, who was now dust and ashes. He gave his life, or perhaps his unlife, and saved the world in the battle that had just ended when the city fell. She had to say goodbye, she had to leave, but her feet had seemed to have grown roots and she couldn’t turn.
Buffy knew she had to leave immediately. The group depended on her. She would count to 10 and turn. Just as she reached to the count of 9 she abruptly stopped and tilted her head toward the crater. Stress and exhaustion must have caused her to hear things. But when she faintly heard another cry for help she knew she wasn’t just hearing things.
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The last thing he had felt, the last thing he could remember was a woman, who had entranced him, biting his neck and then everything went dark. Everything was dark again as he woke; he was hot and horribly uncomfortable lying on an uneven ground. As he breathed in the air he choked on the surrounding dust. A slight panic jumped to his throat when he realized he was being crushed. In a flurry to stay alive he pushed on the offending panel above him. It wouldn’t budge. Another shot of panic coursed through him and he pushed again. This time it did budge, hope surged in him and he frantically fought to get to the fresh air he could smell just above him. After a final push and a scramble to clear the various rubble that seemed to have fallen on him he was finally standing in the open air.
William was suddenly short of breath. Last night he had been in London, the night had not been good to him. He had been horribly rejected by the woman of his affections, embarrassed at a social event and then seduced or accosted by a strange woman. Now he woke from that night to a desert, an unfamiliar desert, at the center of some crater. How he got here, why he was here, he had no idea. He turned around in a rush. Obviously there had been some tragedy that occurred here recently. He looked down at himself and found he was still in his clothes from last night. He felt his body, worried about any injuries. Sure enough his left side felt quite sore.
Another panic washed over him. He was injured and he had no idea how he was going to get out of the crater, let alone survive in a desert like environment. Again he spun around, now terrified he was going to die alone in the middle of some unknown place. He scanned the ledge of the crater, hoping to see anything, any hope for his survival. He thought he saw a person and not caring if it was mirage or real, he yelled.
“H-Help!” His voice shook. William didn’t know if his voice would reach, or if even his echo would carry that far. He could barely see, his glasses were missing, and he didn’t even know if there was really anyone around who could help him. He had to continue to try.
“Help!”
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Buffy’s eyes went wide. She couldn’t see where the voice was coming from but she could hear it. She turned and ran towards the bus. At the doors she yelled to her friends.
“Xander, Giles, there is someone in the crater!”
Giles, an older man with kind and worn eyes behind soft spectacles, turned to face Buffy. His face held a certain disbelief that anyone could have survived the collapse of the town. “Are you quite sure? I wouldn’t think that was possible.”
Xander, her dark haired friend with one eye and an eye patch, looked shocked at the news as well. “No one could possibly be alive after that demolition act.”
“I know what I heard. Someone is down there and needs help.” Buffy’s tone was clear, she wouldn’t hear any arguments.
A red haired girl with an air of innocence, or perhaps false innocence, quickly stepped forward. All other occupants of the bus looked at Buffy with concern and confusion. Most were in pain. They needed to leave. “Buffy, what could we possibly do to help? I mean most of us can hardly stand.”
“That’s OK Willow, I didn’t mean for us to delay anymore.” Buffy looked back at Giles. “I want you to take everyone to safety.”
It only took a second for her words to sink in. “You can’t seriously mean you’re going to rescue the person in the crater yourself? You’ll both be stranded here.” Giles looked and sounded slightly incredulous at her heroics, but he should have been used to them by now.
“Yeah, I think it would be best to just call some rescue center or better yet once we get to a hospital we could inform them of the situation.” Xander added in a hopeful tone.
“No, it’s dangerous down there. We don’t know if the person can survive long enough for a rescue team to get here.”
“Buffy, who could be alive down there? Everyone left a few days ago.” Dawn chimed in, she was obviously worried. Her sister was her only family left. Even surviving an apocalypse didn’t exactly make you invincible to accidents, neither did being a Slayer. Dawn glanced at the blood on Buffy’s shirt and frowned.
“I don’t know Dawn, but I have to help.” Buffy turned to Xander, “Do you have any supplies here like rope or water?”
Xander didn’t argue and said, “Let me check” as he went to the back of the bus in search for the items.
Buffy turned to Giles, “Take care of them while I’m gone. I think the nearest town is about an hour away, if you could get them there and come back to pick the mysterious survivor and me up that would be a load off my mind.”
Giles looked at Buffy for just a moment. Their relationship has been strained over the last few years. Giles had suspected that trust between them had been stretched paper thin. That she was giving him these instructions seemed almost like a beginning to rebuilding that fragile trust. “Of course, but please, do be careful.”
“Always am.” Buffy smiled at him, but her smile was tense, as if she was forcing herself in a show of bravery.
Xander came back to the front of the bus with a single water bottle. “Sorry, I couldn’t find any rope but I found this. I think it’s the only one.” He handed her the water bottle. “You want me to come along too?”
“Thanks, but I think it’ll be best if I go alone with only one water bottle.” Buffy looked to her friends and her sister, Dawn. “See you soon.”
They all said a quick goodbye and soon the bus was driving off towards the next town in a hurry. Buffy watched the bus just for a moment and then turned toward the crater. Buffy steeled herself for one more trip into Sunnydale. And hopefully it would be her last.
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William had decided that his cries for help may have fallen on deaf ears, or rather no ears at all. Clutching his side he began the hurdle of trying to climb over the wreckage of the city to get to the wall of the crater and perhaps find a way over it.
He began his trek in the direction of what he had thought was a person on the edge of the crater, why he had yelled for assistance in the first place. The shape had disappeared, which seemed like a good sign, but he had no idea if his mind was playing tricks on him. As he climbed over the rubble he saw many odd things, nothing seemed familiar, and again he wondered if his mind was going. The remains of buildings seemed to be have been made of different material than he was used to. There were contraptions that he had no idea what they were used for, some with sparks flying out of them. He saw pictures of people in odd clothes and the pictures were in color. Nothing made sense. Color photographs seemed like a fantasy and the carriages looked like they were made of metal with no fastenings for horses. The fires that seemed to have sprouted made it seem like he had somehow landed in hell.
Or the world had been turned upside down. He was moving only for self preservation, but the more he saw as he continued to walk on the more numb he began to feel. His thoughts turned to his sick mother. He hoped she was alright and far away from this catastrophe. But again, he had no idea where he was. He was lost and alone, more so than he had ever been before. Unable to hold it in, he let out a sob. His life had been one of few accomplishments. He had nothing to show for his almost thirty years of life. And now, he might die, and nothing of him would remain in this world.
The panic was gone, it had faded sometime ago, and now he seemed to be empty inside. He was probably going into shock, and he almost laughed as he realized that it was most likely true. With what happened last night and what happened this morning he knew he had done something so horribly wrong that fate had given him this ill begotten lot in life.
William continued walking, staring blankly ahead, just trying to survive. He was thirsty, but he knew not where to get water. He was tired but knew if he stopped he would not be able continue. Because of the haze, smoke and his tears he hardly caught sight of the person that was walking toward him. When he did finally see that he wasn’t alone, he stopped walking, too stunned at what he saw.
Ahead of him was a woman, she was so oddly and indecently dressed. She wore pants and a loose white blouse, a fashion he never saw on a woman before, even the most indecorous. Her blonde hair blew behind her as she walked toward him; her balance was off as she made her way around the debris and various objects between them. His heart seemed to have skipped a beat as he continued to watch her. She was full of poise and vigor. She glowed. Awe struck as he was, he snapped out of his reverie just in time for her to see him clearly. She yelled a greeting to him and speed toward him.
But then when she was finally close enough to see his face clearly she stopped dead. Her eyes went wide with something of disbelief and shock. He had no idea why she looked at him that way, as if she knew him. She gasped and then covered her mouth with her hands. When she finally spoke her voice was a raspy whisper.
“Spike!?”
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Chapter End Notes:
I have a wonderful new beta Sharon/Havena! This is the new beta'd chapter 1 thanks to her!