Tainted Pools
Buffy Summers wasn't sure how she got sucked into this. A couple of years later, after the evacuation of Sunnydale and her adventures with Willow and the others, she found herself at a party, which was heading all into an nighter.
Some friend of hers, who happened not to be a Slayer convinced someone she knew to invite her and Willow along. Willow ended not going; something magical in the world died and Willow felt it and felt it deeply. She told Buffy this over the phone. Since they couldn't say about Willow's magical gifts, Willow just told Dr. Rosen, the host of this outing, that she fell ill and wouldn't be out. It seemed to be a friends-only event as only four others showed; some rough-and-tumble man who called himself Cameron, a built African American man named Bill Harkin, a Middle Eastern looking woman named Rachel, and a thin woman named Nina that Buffy met a year ago. The last Buffy saw of her, she had a boyfriend. She seemed now to be unattached. Buffy remained quiet; it was Nina's business if she felt like sharing, not Buffy's.
The Host of the party was a Psychiatrist named Lee Rosen. Buffy had her reservations about attending with the host being a shrink. Each time she was taken to a Shrink's office in her high school years, they each had come very close to uncovering her 'eyes only' job of being a Slayer. Add to the mix about the Demon hallucination of being in a loony bin and that furthered her repulsion of shrinks everywhere. Buffy wondered how old he was, as he was one she never got to know that well. In dealing with Vampires most of the time of her life, she'd turned shoddy at judging ages in the living.
Cameron Hicks mentioned to Buffy some time ago that Lee Rosen was in his sixties but Buffy hardly believed it as she surreptitiously watched him swim in the lighted pool. His back looked finely sculpted as he swam past where she was sitting. No one caught on to who she was watching; Buffy had plenty of practice on being sneaky – with the whole sneaking out of home and school. Add to the times she had lie to the cops.
"So, what's gone on since we last met, Buffy?" Nina had slipped besides Buffy unnoticed. "He always does that; a waste of time." Nina scoffed at his swimming and Buffy eyed Nina in shock, as she reminded her of Cordelia at that moment.
"Seems to keep him fit," Buffy commented, "Bet he doesn't eat Fast Food."
"Haven't seen him do it, but I doubt he does." Nina explained further, "Half the stuff he grows around here he chews on." Nina made a face and Buffy giggled at the impression she got of Rosen: A long straw sticking out of his mouth complete with scruffy beard and country hat.
"Come on, it can't be that bad." Buffy added when the giggle-fit abated.
"He drinks some kind of roasted Barley stuff instead of real coffee, so I heard."
Buffy took in the sights of the party that had been going on the better part of three hours. The others were nearly across the yard, seated at a table on the raised patio.
"Serious issues," Buffy asked. She gestured over to the others. "They aren't exactly into the party."
"Work tends not to leave them alone," Nina said with a sigh. "We're always on call."
Buffy sighed deeply, "So know the feeling." Nina cast her quick look and so Buffy, not eager to spill about being a Slayer, added hastily about the Double Meat Palace, "Thing with part time jobs, they never leave you alone, even at home."
A black SUV drove up in the driveway and Buffy, now even more alert, sat straight up. Lee was on his way out of the pool upon seeing the car. Little, nagging alarm bells started going off in Buffy's head. Leaving her seat, she acted like she was going to sit at the edge of the pool. She snapped off a short and particular stout twig of one of the many shrubs Rosen had dotting the poolside.
Rachel's attention was called to the driver sliding from the SUV; she had a look of alarm on her face. Buffy wasn't sure why, but it couldn't be good. The man glanced around and Buffy was reminded of a big Lion.
"What brings you here, Don?" Lee inquired. "You weren't invited."
"I remembered you mentioned something to your people about a getaway." The man named Don grumbled. "So I thought I would check it out." He ripped his sunglasses off, face morphing into that of a Vampire, "and check out the Bite life!"
Cameron and Bill shouted curses and ran towards their boss and the true freak-of-nature Don Wilson, guns drawn. Rachel backed up quickly, slipping on the damp grass and tumbling to the ground.
"Stop," Nina demanded when she reached Don. She stood in front of him, glaring him down. "Leave us alone."
As Buffy gripped the stick tightly, running towards Don, she recognized the power of command behind Nina's tone. She'd heard it on Willow enough times; it was only there when Willow got her mojo on. Nina Theroux was a witch? Whatever Nina had been planning didn't work, and there was a hefty, meaty smack resounding in the night air as Don sent her popping up backwards in the air with a Vampire's backhand.
Nina landed in the pool, but Buffy's vision turned grey for a minute when Don smacked her; Nina was human, she'd be lucky to survive long enough to even make it to ICU!
Buffy quickly dove it the water and reached Nina, who wasn't seriously hurt, but was fairly out of it. She got to the side of the pool and helped Nina out. Lee struggled, lifted off his feet by his throat; he was now in the clutches of the irate Vampire.
"I always wondered what a shrink would taste like," Don growled triumphantly. He opened his mouth wide, aiming the chomp for Lee's neck.
As he brought his mouth down with the traditional animalistic growl of victory, Buffy taunted from behind him, "Aw, is the big boy hungry?" He dropped Lee without biting him and turned to Buffy. He looked amused as he took in the sight of a slight, soaking woman. Before he could say anything, she added, snapping, "Try a stake!"
Buffy quickly tackled the man, whose body type resembled sort of a football player, into Lee's pool. This was essential as she could just dust him under the water and no one would be any wiser! Don wanted a bite so badly that he resorts to grabbing Buffy when they reached the bottom of the pool and rolled her around like an alligator does to prey! She was close to blacking out but she managed to punch the stake, however sluggishly, through Don's heart.
He opened his mouth in what Buffy assumed was supposed to be a roar then dusted. The dusting, being underwater as it was, was a disgusting thing to see. As Buffy recovered and swam slowly to the surface, she sincerely hoped she'd not have to do another underwater dusting again. Don's body didn't ash quickly, but sloughed apart and pulled apart into so much greasy mud.
She broke the surface to hear the almost deafening click as everyone pulled a gun on her at once. Nina, seeing it was Buffy who was the victor, untrained her gun from her.
"Where'd the freak go?" Bill demanded.
Even as Lee sat by the poolside, rubbing his neck where Don had him grabbed moments ago, he stated in a warning tone, "Bill."
"Come on, Doc." Cameron exploded. "No way in hell can an Alpha ever pull that off; the gross face and roaring?"
Rachel stood by the pool, looking fairly sickened at the thin particles of mud. She stated in a sickened voice, "I think I found where he went. That mud isn't exactly mud; it's got very minute particles of Human bone."
Buffy looked mortified as people trained guns on her. "I didn't do anything wrong!" She protested. She realized she still gripped the stake; not really a convincing prop of her innocence.
"How long were you aware that you were an Alpha?" Dr. Rosen asked, gazing at her with an unreadable look she didn't like.
"A what," Buffy asked. "Why do you say that I am an Alpha?"
"Your ability caused Don to disintegrate." Lee's tone was that of finality. Of course he couldn't see – wouldn't see – that Don Wilson wasn't the Don Wilson he knew. Instead, a subtle anger simmered behind his gaze. To all intents and purposes, Don was still human and Buffy murdered him!
She tossed the stake away, freaked out. No one was forthcoming on what an Alpha was; and as it stood, she now had a murder conviction over her head!
"Are you a part of Red Flag?" Bill demanded.
"What," Buffy began, "who?" Buffy finished, genuinely confused now. "Is that a military thing? 'Cause the only secret military thing I know of was called the Initiative." The looks didn't change and Lee's gaze was cold and distant as he filed this information away for later use.
"What was he?" Cameron asked, gesturing towards muck. It seemed, God willing, that Cameron had the faintest idea that Don wasn't the same as before.
Buffy was back in familiar territory now, "Easy; that man was a vampire. I'm a vampire slayer."