"Oh, I'd say, just a wild guess." Xander glanced over his shoulder with a frown. "The chair stuck under the doorknob was a pretty good clue, though. Buffy, what the hell's going on?! What happened? Are you okay?" His eyes widened as he noticed the dried blood in her hair. "Oh God, you're hurt!"
"I'm fine." Shoving Xander to the side, Buffy rushed past him, eager to finally get out of the bathroom. "I don't have time to explain, I gotta find Spike!"
"Whoa!" Xander grabbed her arm to stop her, staring at her in disbelief. "You're not going anywhere by yourself; I'm taking you straight to the hospital. You can call Spike from there."
"You don't understand!" Buffy pulled away from him, tears welling up in her eyes. "Ethan's gonna hurt him, I gotta get there before it's too late! I passed out, I don't know for how long, he could already..." A choked sob escaped from her throat and she was unable to finish.
"All right, I'm calling the cops." Xander reached into his pocket for his cellphone.
"Good. Tell them to hurry." Buffy found her purse on the floor and quickly picked it up. Then she headed for the door.
"Wait!" Xander ran after her. "You can't just..."
Buffy spun around, glaring at him furiously. "Try to stop me, and I'll kick your ass!"
"Okay, okay!" Xander quickly took a step back, raising his hands in a defensive manner. "Not gonna stop you. But we'll get there quicker if we take my car. It's right outside. You can call the cops on the way."
She was a little surprised by his offer, but nodded. There was no time to stay and argue; Spike needed her now. "All right. Let's go!"
Realizing too late that he had just made a big mistake, Ethan tried to pull away, but Spike pushed him back against the wall to prevent him from escaping. Ethan's eyes narrowed; suddenly he was not as amused as he had been only a few minutes ago, when he had been convinced he had the upper hand. Then he snickered, clearly trying to find a way to turn the situation back to his advantage. He cocked his head to the side. "My, my... Haven't we completely forgotten our manners? What on earth has gotten into you, William? I think someone need to teach you a lesson; make sure you know your place." He shook his head, sadly. "I'm afraid such violent behavior requires a proper punishment..."
"Shut the fuck up!" Spike let out a snort, for the first time seeing the man in front of him for what he really was; nothing but a pathetic coward. Having heard those words countless times over the years, he suddenly realized that they had absolutely no effect on him at the moment. Or maybe he was just too furious to care anymore. "I asked you a question, you son of a bitch! Where's Buffy? What the hell did you do to her?!"
"Oh, we had a most enjoyable conversation." Ethan smirked. "Let's just say we shared a very special moment. Such a lovely girl..."
Spike swallowed, suddenly feeling sick. "If you have so much as touched her, in any way..."
"You will do what?" Ethan chuckled. "Oh, I see. Tell me, William, what frightens you the most? The thought of me fucking your little girlfriend until she bleed, or the possibility of her actually enjoying it? I'm telling you, the way she..." He cried out in surprise and pain as Spike's fist once again connected with his face.
"I swear to God, I'll fucking kill you!" Before Ethan got a chance to recover from the second blow, Spike hit him again, causing the older man to stumble back, struggling to keep his balance. Spike saw his chance and quickly kicked Ethan in the stomach, hard enough to make him drop to his knees. Gasping for air, he did a weak attempt of getting back on his feet, but Spike pushed him back down. "You stay down, you hear?! You don't get to move unless I bloody say so!"
Ethan stared at him in disbelief, looking more than a little dazed, but still more shocked than afraid. "You dare...!"
"Did I say you could speak?!" Spike kicked the fallen man again, this time right in the face. There was a sickening, cracking sound, and Spike wasn't sure if he had hit the man's nose, or his teeth. Truth to be told, he didn't really care. All he cared about at the moment was to cause as much damage as possible.
Coughing violently, Ethan spat out a mouthful of blood. "Kill me, and you'll never find out where Buffy is," he slurred.
Freezing in his tracks, Spike realized that he was right. He had no idea where Buffy was, had no way of helping her if he couldn't get the other man to speak. Needless to say, Ethan wouldn't be able to tell him anything if he was dead. And even if Spike would settle for just beating him unconscious, he would lose precious time waiting for the abusive bastard to wake up again. Right now, time was a luxury he couldn't spare.
Seeing his hesitation, Ethan took the opportunity to quickly reach into his pocket and pull out a small object before Spike got the chance to react. "Maybe I was lying all along," he hissed. "Maybe I have no idea where your precious Buffy is. But tell me something, William..." His hand tightened around the small knife, his eyes as cold as ice. "Did you really believe I would come here unprepared?"
Spike's eyes widened as Ethan's hand lashed out at him, ready to attack, and he acted instinctively, before his mind had fully registered what was happening. He threw himself at Ethan in a desperate attempt to get him to drop the knife, and that was when the struggle for life or death began. A struggle that felt like it lasted for hours, when in reality it was a matter of mere seconds. Suddenly, Spike became aware of two things. Sharp, blinding pain. And the faint sound of sirens approaching on the street outside the house. The rest of the world was silent. Then, in the next moment, there was blood everywhere.
TBC