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Chapter 2


“Sit down Riley…I believe you know everybody here, is that correct?” Giles asked, and Riley glanced around the assembled people and nodded his head.

“Good, we’ll get on then, if you’d like to tell us your problem”

“Well, five days ago, an eight-man unit of mine, part of a team of 24 went missing in the wilds of Belize…we haven’t heard of them since, we’ve had two search and rescue parties looking round the clock, but all they found was their equipment and radio

The last radio message we received from them told us they’d come across a pile of stones, they had on them ancient symbols…they were tired, decided to set up camp nearby, a couple of the guys sat on the stones and said they could feel something strange, like a vibration, we don’t exactly know what happened after that………”

“Couldn’t leave well alone, could they, fuckin’ idiots” Spike said angrily

“Spike!” Giles chastised, and Spike rounded on the watcher

The blonde vamp folded his arms; he couldn’t understand why this needed a slayer…

“What? Come on, watcher – what – suddenly I’m not allowed an opinion now? (Spike stood and angrily pointed towards Riley, but he was looking at Giles as he said his piece) His bunch of wankers stride in the gods know where, somewhere they’re not bleeding well wanted, do something they shouldn’t – and for all their hi-tech weaponry, sophisticated satellite-navigational equipment, not to mention the thousands of dollars worth of survival training they’ve had, he has to come here, tail between his legs, and expects my Mrs, that’s MY wife, to go and rescue them – and I’m not allowed to have an opinion, hmm? - Have I got that right?”

Everybody was silent, they looked at the table or their hands, anywhere but each other, because, well because…Spike had a really good valid point.

“I’m, I’m sorry, I didn’t know who else to turn to – if she doesn’t want ………well, I understand” Riley trailed off.

“Hold your horses – it’s not a case of does or doesn’t want to, before any decisions are made, we better try and ascertain what this thing was that those wankers touched – if it IS slayer business at all, it could be an old burial mound, and the locals have got miffed at their dead being disturbed - some are tribes like that – then again, it could even be something ET for all we know” Spike said

“ET?” Giles looked up with one eyebrow cocked

“Well, why not – nothing would surprise me in this day and age” Spike said sitting down, and taking Buffy’s hand.

Buffy smiled and squeezed, her small hand enveloped tightly around his.

“Where is Belize anyway?” Buffy asked. Before anybody could speak, Spike said,

“Central America pet, used to be known as British Honduras – it’s mostly jungle, rain forest – totally under-developed. It’s to the east of Guatemala; well, they’ve claimed it anyway. It was nearly wiped off the map Hallowe’en, 1961 by a hurricane”

There were a few surprised faces at Spike’s (correct) knowledge.

“Believe me Spike…we’ve tried EVERYTHING we have to contact them – their radio is still transmitting, it’s just they’re not answering”

“So why haven’t ‘International Rescue’ been called out then, if you now the location they went missing?”

“The others…the 16 that were left – they were in two groups of eight, they were less than three kilometres away either side of the missing group, they were at the lost patrol’s co-ordinations in less than two hours, but they found nothing, but the stones, and um…well – they…they heard a terrific noise, a, a roaring – they said it was like nothing they’d ever heard before…”

“Roaring? – What like water – a waterfall, an animal, what?”

Riley shrugged his shoulders and said

“Animal I guess”

“You guess, huh – and that’s supposed to be good enough is it?”

“Well, you’ll be able to hear for yourself on the tape I’ve got”

“Spike please, will you sit down, we need to try and work things out rationally” Giles pleaded

“Look – all I’m trying to do here, is to get as much information as I can – this is not the sort of thing we can look up in the Watcher diaries or the Ars Daemonicus is it – well not yet it isn’t…I could be ANYTHING, and right at this moment, I’m still not convinced it’s slayer business at all” Spike said

“I’LL be the judge of that!” Giles said, with an edge to his voice

Spike looked thoughtful for a few moments and then asked,

“What about the locals, you know, the inhabitants of the island, have you spoken to any of them?”

Riley looked slightly pained, and shook his head and said,

“We tried…when we could find somebody that was – but they just shout un-intelligibly and brandish weapons at us”

“Why am I not surprised – they’ve probably got to sacrifice a virgin, or offer up their first-born to ‘placate the hell-beast’, thanks to your lot” Spike muttered

“You don’t know that, Spike” Giles said testily

“No, I don’t, and neither do you, so come on the Rupes, how are you going to ascertain if this is slayer business, or what – I don’t want my beautiful Buffy in any more danger than is necessary” Spike felt Buffy’s hand squeeze his briefly, and he smiled at her.

“I have to say – I agree with Spike, after all, he’s only looking out for his wife’s safety!” Gunn whispered to Wesley.

“Shall we start by looking at these symbols on the stones, see if we can look something up?” Giles asked

“Um…I er, I don’t have any pictures…just descriptions from the transcripts of the radio messages we received” Riley said quietly

Giles and Wesley looked at each other, they could begin to feel a little as Spike did – they were beginning to wonder if this was a good idea after all…

“You’ll have to sign these documents, this is classified material you’re going to hear” Riley place official secrets act papers out for them to sign

Rolling their eyes, everybody signed the forms, and Riley took out a small tape recorder and set it up on one of the desks and pressed ‘play’………

“……………761Victor-Charlie unit to 224 alpha tango base leader, come in please”

“Come in Victor-Charlie, this is base leader, over”

“Yeah you guys…we’ve come across something weird, over”

“Repeat, Victor-Charlie, did you say weird, come back?”

“Affirmative base…big pile of old black stones…smooth, oval – got like stuff carved on them, over”

“Victor-Charlie stay in your position while I get instructions from the commanding officer, over”

There was a two-minute pause in the transmission, so Riley explained, then it continued thus:

“This is 224 alpha tango base leader to 761 Victor-Charlie, come in Victor-Charlie, over”

“761 to base over, we’re here – these symbols are weird – there’s one like a capital ‘A’, but the bar across the middle sticks out a bit either side…then there’s a circle, with rays shooting out, but only the top half of the circle…three wavy lines underneath each other…there’s a triangle with an eye shape in the middle of it…over”

“761 you were told not to touch the stones, HQ said to ignore them, most likely a burial mound. We are setting up camp for the night, please set sat-nav co-ordinates to 2degrees 27 minutes south by south west, and 30 degrees 3 minutes north by north east – message ends 18 hundred hours – goodnight Victor-Charlie – remember, no fucking about now, this is alpha tango base leader closing communication, over and out”

“Roger there alpha tango – co-ordinates set – sweet dreams y’all, over and out”

Riley reached over and stopped the tape

“Is that it?” Wesley asked, he looked at what he’d written down, he’d actually drawn what had been described.

“There was this roughly 53 minutes later” Riley switched on the tape again

(Very urgent, panicky voice)

“761 Victor-Charlie to 224 alpha-tango base leader over, come in base – oh god for fuck’s sake come in please………(in the background incoherent shouting and screams could be heard, pistol shots, then a roaring, like a lion very close to the microphone)

“224 alpha-

“Never mind that – help us, oh god you’ve got to help us, the stones began to vibrate – Hudson and Forrest were sitting on them, two fell off the top of the pile – oh god, oh fuck, no – Hudson, HUDSON, come away from – no, oh no please god…ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrrggggggghhhh guh, no, NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO………”
A huge echoing roar was all that could be heard after that, then silence

Again Riley switched off the tape and said,

“That’s all we’ve got, just jungle noises after that, and ever since”

Wesley and Giles began to talk…

“Quite frankly, I’m not convinced this IS slayer business” Wesley said

“Well…let’s see if we can dig up anything on these symbols you’ve drawn, then decide” Giles said, tapping Wesley’s notebook with his pen, and Wesley agreed. Giles cleared his throat and said

“Riley, we’ve, that is Wesley and myself have decided to see if we can dig up anything on these symbols – and then we’ll decide if this is slayer business, meanwhile, Buffy and the rest of you, see what you can dig up on Central American legends, mythical beasts, what have you”

“Excuse me………Riley is it?” Cordelia spoke up

“Yes?”

“Have you got anything from the jungle – anything that’s from the locale to where this happened, I might be able to get something from it”

“Sorry, get something?” Riley asked puzzled

“The vibrations, I can tune in, I have visions” Cordelia said. Spike and Buffy gave each other a ‘look’ and tried not to grin

“You’ll probably find that’s too much Californian chardonnay pet!” Spike quipped, and Angel gave Spike a murderous look, and started angrily,

“I’ll have you know that Cordy-“

“Angel – it’s okay, they don’t know what’s happened” Cordelia put a soothing hand on Angel’s arm, and then she turned towards Buffy and Spike.

“A member of our team, he was an empath, he had visions, sadly he’s passed away, but not before he passed his gift onto me”

“Oh. Well sorry pet, I didn’t know – last time we met you were trying to help Peaches here cheat at rally racing, if my memory serves me correct”

Cordelia smiled and said serenely,

“That’s okay! Now, Riley, anything from the jungle?”

Riley began to pat his pockets…

“Well, there’s a turn up for the books! – who’d a thunk it – little Miss Cheerleader being of some use after all!” Spike whispered to Buffy, who smiled and raised her brows.





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