A Walk In The Park

(on behalf of a friend)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Buffy, people at Mutant Enemy & other people I can't remember do. I only own an evil Plot Bunny called Bronwen.

Summary: A winter evening's walk in the park brings a surprise for the Slayer

There was the hiss of air brakes as the Greyhound bus pulled into the depot and came to a smooth halt. Last out of the vehicle was a short, muscular, olive skinned girl with wild, curly ebony hair and flashing black eyes. She stepped lightly from the bottom step of the bus, tossed her mane of untamed, jet black hair, shifted a bag on her shoulder and looked around critically.

Her name was Juanita Rodriguez and she was the Slayer. From the Mexican barrio in San Diego, Juanita was the Chosen One, the one girl born into every generation charged with the task of protecting the world from the scourge of the vampire. Juanita was sixteen years old, three months shy of her seventeenth year, and she had not been the Slayer for very long. Until now she had always fought the vampires on her own territory, the mean streets of San Diego. Now she was in a picture pretty suburb of Los Angeles. She was on the tail of a gang of six San Diego vampires, exactly why they had come here was unclear, but her Watcher; the cute English teacher Jensen, who up until he had revealed her true self to her she had always thought was just a shy British guy who taught English language skills to the underprivileged, predominantly Spanish speaking community amongst which Juanita lived, believed that they were on a mission of some sort. Juanita believed the same thing. She had captured and interrogated a local vampire and before she had staked her the vampire revealed that one of San Diego's most powerful vampires; Hector, had sent the gang to Los Angeles, specifically this suburb. The vampire had not been close enough to Hector to have been given the exact details of why Hector had sent them, but she did tell Juanita that they were led by Diablo, one of Hector's most trusted lieutenants.

"Diablo!" Juanita snorted, lip curling up in derision. "Until not so long ago he was Enrique." Enrique, or as he now liked to be known Diablo, came from Juanita's barrio. He was five years older than the Slayer, a tall, muscular, good looking boy with a swagger and an unshakeable self confidence. Juanita had never told anyone, but she had quite a crush on Enrique prior to him becoming a vampire. Initially no one really noticed the change, it was at first believed that he was on drugs and then people started turning up dead, mostly girls and generally Juanita's age. It was Jensen and Juanita who had unmasked Enrique and shown the community what they had living amongst them. Juanita thought back soberly, that was the night she had discovered that she was the Slayer.

Juanita shook her head angrily to clear it and looked up at the sky. Twilight, the sun was almost down. Diablo and his five companions would soon be awake and hunting. They had driven a hearse with blacked out windows here and they had a head start on Juanita, but she knew that they could not have arrived any earlier than dawn and that meant they had been forced to find somewhere dark to hole up until night fell. Whatever they were looking for, she had to find it before they did. The young vampire Juanita had killed did not know what the object of the hunt was, but it was big, that much she did know. Juanita drove a stake through her heart while she was still giggling and watched the laugh die on her lips as the loathsome creature turned to dust.

The blonde girl sighed, looked at the dance hall's empty car park and fretted. She was small, warmly dressed in jeans, boots and a fluffy pink jacket with fake fur trimming. She looked to be around ten years old, although she was short for her age. "C'mon Dad!" she whined. "Where are you?"

Her dance class had finished over thirty minutes ago. All the other kids had been picked up and left, even the teacher had locked the hall and left. One of the other mothers had offered her a ride home, but she had declined, her father would not be happy if he arrived to pick her up and she was not there. She looked at her watch and the steadily darkening sky and frowned. She knew what had happened, her Dad had been caught up at work and probably forgotten that he was meant to pick his daughter up from her dance class. When he got that busy he did not even think to ring anyone.

She took a deep breath, pursed her lips, and expelled it huffily. There was nothing else for it. She was going to have to walk home, she could wait for her father, but there was no telling when he would remember her and it was unlikely he would even know until he arrived home and she was not there. She shook her head and chided herself for even being surprised, it was not like it was the first time. Walking home was not really that bad, it was not far, but she had to walk through the park to get home, it was winter and it was nearly dark. During the day the park was bright and sunny, there were kids everywhere tossing balls and frisbees, running around, playing on the swings and slides and in the sand box. At night it was a different story, it was very dark, there was little lighting in the park and much of the path was not lit at all. The trees that were strong, comforting presences during the day and offered welcome shade became dark, threatening presences that could hide all manner of evils. Shivering, although it was not even that cold, she pulled her coat tighter around her, picked up the small carryall, containing her leotard and dance slippers and set off through the gravel surrounding the hall en route to the park.

Juanita stopped at the entrance to the suburb's park. They were here, she was sure of it. The park was near the cemetery. The vamps had probably found an unoccupied crypt to spend the day safely hidden from the sunlight. Despite Diablo's relative youth as one of the undead he had retained Enrique's cunning and he led this small group. Juanita looked at the forbidding park and her smooth brow creased in a frown. There were plenty of places for them to hide, the place was not well lit and that gave her adversaries the advantage. She had better night vision than most people, but it was not as good as a vampires. They were creatures of the night, she was in their element now.

Juanita moved soundlessly over the unseen carpet of soft green grass, her eyes flicking around her for a glimpse of movement, ears pricked, senses tingling. This was what a Slayer did, put her life on the line regularly, pitting her enhanced skills against a dangerous, merciless adversary that could strike without warning at any time. Juanita patted the shapeless bag that hung by her hip, feeling the comforting presence of the sharpened wooden stakes that she now carried with her everywhere she went and hearing the soft clink of the vials of holy water that she also packed in the bag, the complete vampire repellent kit. Her hand clasped around the small crucifix that hung around her neck and had done so long before she had ever heard of the Slayer or discovered that vampires were not just stories. Juanita's hand went to the stakes she had tucked securely into her belt and slipped one up the sleeve of her coat.

Eyes straining against the gloom Juanita caught a flash of colour on the path. Her breath caught in her throat, they were here, and then her tight body sagged in disappointment. No, it was not a vampire, it was a kid. A kid? A pretty, little girl. What on earth was she doing here? More to the point she had to get out of here and fast. That little girl would be no more than a quick snack to a gang of vamps on the hunt. That was when Juanita heard it, her eyes went up just in time to see the vampire dropping from the tree above her. It was in full vampire face, eyes blazing yellow, the skin and flesh around the brows and nose inflamed and puckered, giving the face an unnatural, animalistic look, the mouth was open and the fangs were out. Juanita stepped back, the stake sliding smoothly from her sleeve into her palm. The vampire twisted mid air and landed on its feet. Juanita glided forward, stake arm extended and stabbed the sharpened length of wood through the creature's chest. The mouth and eyes opened wide in surprise before it turned to a small pile of dust. Juanita whirled to see another vampire, a tall female, rushing her, she stuck out a foot and as the vampire tripped and fell Juanita whipped the stake upwards, there was a whoosh and the second attacker was dust before she even hit the ground. Juanita gave a cry of surprise as from one side a third vampire crash tackled her, they hit the ground rolling. The vampire had a tight grip around the Slayer's waist, as he tried to get on top of her Juanita dug a hand into her bag, it emerged holding a vial of holy water. Juanita raised the hand with the consecrated water and smashed it down on top of the vampire's head. It squealed as the water burned like acid and ate into its scalp and face. Juanita snatched another stake from her belt and ended the vampire's agony with one quick thrust.

Dusting herself off Juanita looked around in satisfaction. Three. Three vampires. She had never done that many all in one go before. Pretty sharp staking, Rodriguez, she congratulated herself silently, and then frowned as the import of the number hit her. Three? There had been six in the gang and Diablo was not one of the dusted vampires. Where were the others? Oh sweet baby Jesu! The child. The little girl! Juanita did not know why, but these vampires were after that girl! Juanita bolted out of the trees and tore down the path. The girl was well ahead of her, blissfully unaware of the life and death struggle that had just taken place around her. Juanita looked up into the spreading tree branches above the girl and her eyes went wide as she cursed. At least one of the vampires was shadowing the girl from above. Juanita leapt into the trees and went after the vampire in the in the branches overhead.

The Mexican girl climbed above the vampire, readied herself and jumped. She sailed through the air and landed on the back of the unsuspecting vampire. Cat quick the vampire turned and hissed at Juanita. For a second Juanita hesitated. Francesca? The vampire was Francesca. Juanita knew Francesca, the girl had babysat her and her siblings. She had been Enrique's girlfriend before he had been turned. "Oh, you heartless, soulless bastard!" she murmured as a tear slipped from her eyes. She lay back on the branch, stake clasped to her breast and allowed Francesca to close on her before stabbing upward with the stake. Juanita shuddered as the dust that had once been her friend Francesca cascaded over her.

The pink jacketed girl was still walking briskly down the path. Juanita looked ahead. One of the bushes on the side of the path moved. At least one of the remaining vampires was in that bush. Juanita stood on the branch, balanced, flexed and leapt out into space. She hit the vampire on the shoulder and knocked it away from the path. It jumped up and ran at her. Juanita reached to her belt for a stake and her hand closed on empty air. Oh damn! She had used the last one in her belt on Francesca. There was no time to reach into her bag for another one just at the moment. As the vampire reached for her she fell back, took hold of its bony wrists, brought her legs up as she rolled onto her back and drove them into the surprised vampire's midriff, it grunted as Juanita's powerful legs propelled it through the air. The vampire slammed into the bole of a tree, Juanita jumped to her feet and kicked it hard in the solar plexus before it could regain its breath or its feet. Stake in hand the Slayer rose above the groggy vampire and drove the stake into its blackened heart.

On one knee Juanita looked around. Five down, one to go. Diablo was still at large and still after the little girl. Juanita slung her bag back onto her hip and got to her feet, she had another stake in her hand as her arms and legs pumped in a sprint down the path. The girl had stopped at a fork in the path and seemed to be trying to decide which direction to take. As Juanita ran and watched with mounting horror a shape emerged from the trees behind the child. "No, no Diablo!" Juanita hissed. In desperation she threw the stake. The sharpened length of wood was not balanced or designed to be thrown. It spun through the air, twirling end over end and hit Diablo on the side of the head. With a muttered curse the vampire turned to see what had hit him. He bent down and picked up the stake, he raised his head, a smile playing across his full lips, fangs gleaming on either side. "Slayer." he said smoothly, looking at Juanita, holding the stake in one hand.

"Enrique." she greeted her former friend, skidding to a halt and keeping a wary eye on him.

Irritation crossed the vampire's face at the use of his old name and he admonished Juanita "No, no, chica. Enrique is dead, now I am Diablo."

Juanita did not dignify the boast with a response, but asked "What do you want with the girl?"

"No business of yours, 'Nita."

"I'm the Slayer, everything you and your kind do is my business, vampiro."

"Juanita," Diablo began in a reasonable tone, "she is one little senorita. Let me have her. We can continue this back home."

Juanita had been steadily moving around and now she blocked the path between Diablo and the girl, who was still walking purposefully through the park.

"While there is breath in my body I will not let you destroy another life, Diablo."

"Your funeral, chica." and with a snarl Diablo attacked her.

Madre de dios! He was so quick! His arm moved down in a blur. The hand holding her stake whipped past her face, only her Slayer reflexes allowed her to sway away from it. She grabbed Diablo's arm and he swung into her. For a few steps they staggered around in a grotesque parody of some bizarre dance. Diablo's fanged face smiled at her and he kissed her hard on the mouth. Juanita cried out as one of his fangs nicked her lip, she pushed him away from her with effort. Diablo grinned and his tongue flickered out to taste the blood that he had drawn. "Aahhhhh chica," he sighed, "it is true what the old ones say. A Slayer tastes sweet."

Juanita fought down rising revulsion and tried to reach into her bag. Diablo's hand closed on her wrist before she could get there. "No, no 'Nita, not your little bag of tricks this time."

As the Slayer struggled in the iron hard grip Diablo hooked a leg around hers and tripped her up. She hit the ground with a grunt as Diablo landed on her with the full weight of his body. He snarled as her bent over her neck, she fought wildly as his fangs grazed her throat, she had no leverage, and she could not shift Diablo, was this how it ended? The crucifix beneath her jacket slipped out and contacted Diablo's cheek. There was a burning smell and a tendril of smoke. Diablo cursed and leapt his feet, a hand clapped to the cross shaped burn on his face. Juanita rose to her feet and with a shout of anger punched Diablo in the face, he staggered back a pace and then backhanded her across the cheek. White hot anger surged through Juanita. How dare this thing lay a hand on her! She was the Slayer! Juanita jumped up in the air and kicked Diablo hard in the chest, confused he was driven back a step. Despite what others had said, he had never truly believed the stories about the Slayer. The fact that the current Slayer was little Juanita Rodriguez, the girl who had had a crush on him for as long as he could remember made it even harder for him to credit the stories and believe that Juanita Rodriguez could ever post a threat to him; Diablo. As Diablo tried to regain his composure Juanita aimed a spinning kick into his head and then followed it up with a solid side kick to the abdomen. Diablo snarled and summoned his strength, he stood his ground and raised his fists. Juanita stiff armed him in the chest, he was forced backwards two steps into the tree behind him. He was driven back onto a broken branch protruding from the trunk at chest height. It entered his back and popped out through the other side. Diablo had time to open his mouth wide in surprise and murmur "Juanita." before he exploded into dust and became a small, neat pile of ashes at the base of the tree.

Juanita looked down at the pathetic little pile and a look of sadness crossed her face. "I'm sorry, Enrique." she said with a tinge of regret. "You deserved better than that. If I find the one that turned you, my friend I will kill him for you." She turned away and looked down the path. Where was the kid? The vampires were all dead, the girl was safe, but Juanita still wanted to know what made her so important. She looked like an ordinary little girl, but being the Slayer had taught her that things were not often what they seemed. She took a handkerchief from her jacket pocket and dabbed at her cut lip to stem the bleeding, then began to jog down the path after the girl shouting "Kid! Hey kid! Wait up!"

The girl's head came up as she heard the voice behind her, asking her to wait. She stopped, turned and peered down the path behind her. Out of the darkness came a teenaged girl. She looked Latino and in this white bread suburb that in itself was odd. Juanita stopped by the girl's side and smiled down at her "Hi!"

"Hi." the girl said shyly and then added "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

Juanita grinned, she had taught her little sister the same lesson, then she said "I'm Juanita from out of town, so we're not strangers anymore and you can talk to me."

The blonde girl frowned, she was sure that it did not actually work that way, but the Latino girl did seem nice and she was very lonely and frightened so maybe it would be okay just this once.

"You can help me, actually." Juanita said as they commenced their walk through the park.

"How?" the girl asked.

"Well, like I said I'm from out of town and I need to know where the bus depot is. Can you tell me?"

"Sure!" the child replied brightly. "It's like two blocks from my house."

"That's just great!" Juanita said happily. "I can walk you home and you can show me where the depot is. What are you doing out after dark by yourself anyway?"

The girl frowned "My Dad was meant to pick me up after dance class, but he never showed."

"Oh." Juanita said with concern.

"It's okay," the girl spoke quickly to allay the older girl's fears, "he probably got busy at work and forgot. My Dad works real hard."

"Of course he does, honey." Juanita assured her companion.

They continued out of the park and crossed onto some well lit streets with big, double storied houses, straight out of a sitcom, set on manicured lawns. Juanita looked down at the girl alongside her. Pretty, she thought. Pretty like I never was. In the silence the Slayer amused herself by thinking about her new friend. She would become a cheerleader at high school, probably the captain of the squad and maybe even be elected homecoming queen. She would graduate from college with a major in pom pom waving, marry a football player called Biff, be the perfect trophy wife, pop out the required two point five children, live in one of these gingerbread houses and be the American dream. Something that she Juanita would never get to do, even if she was pretty and blonde and the perfect, white, Anglo Saxon protestant she was still the Slayer and Slayers rarely lived to see their twentieth birthday. Aware that the girl was looking up at her, she broke off her thoughts guiltily. She did not even know this kid and she had no right to think what her future might be based on looks alone, she also had no right to be jealous just because this little girl was not and would never be the Slayer and not know the pain and heartache of carrying that unasked for burden.

They were standing outside another one of these impossibly perfect, double storied houses. It had a white picket fence, a manicured lawn that looked like it was maintained with nail clippers, there was an old fashioned lamp glowing brightly on the lawn and light came from the windows inside. Juanita could just see a pretty, blonde lady, who looked like the kid all grown up, bustling around inside the warmly lit house. "This is me." the girl informed Juanita.

"Okay."

"The bus depot is two blocks down that way." the little girl pointed down the street.

"Thanks."

"Thanks for walking me home. I gotta go." she opened the gate and started down the winding path through the lawn.

"You're welcome." Juanita said and as she watched the pick jacketed back walk along the path, remembered that she had not even thought to ask her name. Maybe that would give her a clue as to why Diablo and his crew had wanted her so badly.

"Kid!" she called.

The girl turned and regarded her through clear green eyes.

"What's your name?"

The girl tilted her head, smiled and said firmly "Buffy. Buffy Summers."