Chapter 4:
Willow felt like she was in a monster movie when they wheeled that rectangular crate into the castle dungeon.
“Place it over in the corner Nathan.” Mr. Travis ordered one of the Watchers.
She glanced at Giles and saw that he looked uneasy too; the butterflies in her stomach just had quadrupled when she caught sight of the container that held their new guest.
“Was he willingly put into that crate?” Willow whispered as she crossed her arms and examined the Watchers move the dolly to the corner and maneuver the box so it was shoved into the dark corner.
“Hardly…” Travis mumbled, “Drugs were necessary for his capture. They’ll be out of his system completely by daybreak and I expect that’s when the ‘interesting’ observations will start.”
“I still don’t understand him being here…”
“I’ll explain it to you later Ms. Rosenberg, but for now you’ll be in charge of protecting us and protecting the Potentials from him. We need powerful magic to make sure he doesn’t escape.” Travis explained.
“Just the other day you said he wouldn’t be any harm to the girls.” Giles said in a snippy tone.
“Oh stop your complaining Rupert…he will be harmless with the spell in place.” Travis smiled at Willow, all his faith was put into her witchcraft skills.
Willow smiled nervously back, “Thanks for picking me…”
Giles rolled his eyes at this plan, he knew Willow was talented but this was ridiculous. Putting Potential Slayers in harms way by housing a master vampire? Giles concluded it was purely idiotic and thought that if he was in charge this would never happen.
“Oh have a little confidence in yourself Ms. Rosenberg” Travis patted the redhead’s arm when he noted her look of distress, “It’s a simple spell…I would do it myself, but since you’re an expert in this department I feel better handing over this duty to you.”
The three Watchers that wheeled the box that held William the Bloody quickly opened the front panel with a crowbar and backed away.
Willow took a step forward and went on her tippy toes to see the vampire inside the box known as ‘Spike’ and ‘William the Bloody’ for the first time.
“He’s asleep…right?” Willow turned to look at Travis.
“Quit knackered, yes.” Quentin nodded, “You could dress him up in women’s clothing and he wouldn’t wake up.”
“If you’re so sure of that, then why don’t you do it?” Giles said sarcastically to Travis.
“You’re getting on my last nerve Rupert…you still fond of Japan?” Travis asked.
Giles, having had enough of Quentin, turned around and went down the hallway and up the stairs.
*~**~*~*~*~*~*
The Next Morning…
“Sooo….what are we supposed to talk about?” Buffy asked the psychologist that sat across from her in a leather swivel chair.
“We can talk about anything you like Buffy” Dr. Burkle smiled as she folded her hands on top of her notepad.
The doctor was young, a few years out of getting her doctorate; Quentin thought it was sensible for the Potentials to work with someone young and hip…someone they could trust.
“Well…I’m not sure what to talk about….”
Buffy shifted in her chair, she was uncomfortable despite Dr. Burkle’s friendliness. Waking up in the morning and being told to go see a shrink wasn’t her idea of the perfect way to start the day. Heck, it was scoring more negative points with the Council in her book.
“Well, how bout we start with why you’re here…you’ve been sleepwalking and I’d like to know if this has ever happened before?” Dr. Burkle asked as she picked up her pen and started jotting down a few things.
“No…” Buffy shook her head.
“Never?” Dr. Burkle tilted her head to the side as she asked.
“Never…”
“Hmmm…”
The two sat in silence for a moment.
“Tell me Buffy, when you fall asleep and you dream, do you remember any of them?”
“I—I use to…however, lately…no.”
“None at all?”
“No…” Buffy shrugged, thinking it was no big deal.
“When was the last time you had a dream that you could remember?”
“I-I’m not sure…”
Dr. Burkle sighed, “Well…how about when you did dream, before, do you remember any of your dreams that you had? Any details…?”
Buffy paused and thought long and hard. However, while she thought, Buffy’s hand went up to the ring hanging her chained necklace. Dr. Burkle glanced at the ring and then back to Buffy’s face; the doctor instantly noticed that young Potential didn’t realize what she was doing. Dr. Burkle looked down at her pad and scribbled a few more notes.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“I’m telling you Mr. Travis, the child has no recollection of what she dreams about, and it seems it’s not the sort of thing where you wake up and forget later in the day what you dreamed about…it’s like her mind is wiped clean as soon as she wakes up.”
“Hmmm…causes quit a problem for solving her sleepwalking…maybe she needs a sleep study test.”
“Well I don’t think it’s too serious for that too happen.” Dr. Burkle reassured, “She says this is probably the first time she ever went sleepwalking.”
“Still…I’d like for her to be tested.”
Dr. Burkle sighed and nodded as she got up from the chair across from Travis’s desk, “If that is what you like I can arrange it…”
“I’ll inform you when I feel she needs this done.”
“Call me…you have my card.” Dr. Burkle was just about to leave when Quentin stopped her.
“I have one more request while you’re here…”
*~*~*~*~*~*~
Dr. Burkle felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she walked down dark hallway inside the castle behind Travis.
“I—I’m not sure I like working in such hostile conditions.”
“We can move him to another room when you examine him if you like.” Travis said without glancing behind his shoulder at her. “I have no problem with that request, just a little notice would be nice…I’ll call Willow to be nearby while you examine him.”
“Well, I haven’t agreed to do this yet…I’m just going to take a peek at him. I must really catch the train back to Brighton by 5:30.”
“You won’t miss the train…” Travis stopped at a steel door and turned to look at the nervous woman, “I assure you this will only take a minute.”
Travis pressed a five digit code into a computerized security system that opened the doors.
“Is…is he calm?” she asked while she straightened her glasses that were on her face.
“Give me time and he will be controlled properly.” Quentin smiled as she held his hand out, gesturing for her to enter first.
“Umm…you first…” she said as she bit her lip.
“Alright…” Quentin stepped through the doorway and into the medium size room that was now Spike’s home; Dr. Burkle followed.
The psychologist squinted her eyes and looked into the darkness, “Is he here?”
It only took a second before Spike revealed himself at the boundary of the light coming into the room from the hallway. Dr. Burkle flinched in surprise and held her hand to her racing heart.
“Don’t be alarmed…he can’t touch you or anyone…not with the spell in place.”
Dr. Burkle blinked a few times and cleared her throat, “I’m fine…just startled me…”
Spike stared at the woman without saying a word. The doctor took note of his black wardrobe that was dirty and torn; his hair was greasy and in a mess of brown curls.
“Doesn’t he speak?”
“No…not yet…lets out a few growls ever now and then. Mr. Spike is just being a stubborn demon at the moment….” Quentin turned to look at Spike, “Isn’t that right?”
Dr. Burkle glanced between the two of them, “Do you think it’s wise to taunt him?” she whispered to Travis.
“I need a reaction from him…any reaction…hopefully it’s something verbal.”
“Why am I here if he won’t talk?”
“He will talk if he knows what’s good for him…” Quentin said.
Spike growled and shifted his face to show the demon inside himself.
“He understands you…” Dr. Burkle stated.
“He’s conscious to his surroundings, yes; it’s just sometimes he gets into these moods…his tormented soul makes him a bit crazy at times.”
“He has a soul?”
Quentin turned and smiled at Dr. Burkle, “You’ll find out in the next few weeks that Spike isn’t your ordinary demon…”
“But what about Buffy, you still want me to see her too?”
“It will be a bit of a challenge, but I believe that you can handle the both of them…” Travis said and then turned to Spike, who moved back into the shadows of the room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Later that night…
Willow yawned, but kept her eyes moving over the text, trying hard not to lose her spot while she read.
“Would help if there were pictures…something entertaining…” she muttered to herself and then turned the page, “Or perhaps—“
Willow stopped when she read the first line on the top of the page.
“Here it is…” she muttered to herself before reading aloud, “‘William the Bloody: tormentor of slayers, descendent of Master.’”
Finally, after thirty books, Willow hopefully found exactly what Giles wanted.
“‘…childe of Drusilla, grandchilde of Angelus…sired before the turn of the century, exact date unclear—evidence dates to around 1877. The name ‘Spike’ originated in East London after several guests at a hotel were killed with spikes in their rooms in 1884. After mob attacks, Spike seemed to have disappeared from the human and demon society until 1901; he killed his first Slayer in China during the Boxer Rebellion.’”
Willow skimmed a few more paragraphs, but didn’t find anything too exciting. Everything in the book was basic facts on Drusilla and Angelus, the parts containing Spike’s life seemed rather vague and what one would find in a textbook. The redhead glanced down at the page numbers that were marked in the corner of the book. She flipped to one page and then back to the previous one.
“Page 194….page 200…” she said to herself.
It seemed that several pages were missing.
TBC…