Cold
Summer Part One - The Safest Place to Be
Lyrics:
"In the End" by Linkin Park
Notes:
1st part in the "Cold Summer" series
Sentences in
italic //are thoughts//
Sentences in italic "are
lyrics."
*~*~*
Angel clicked the stake into the spring-loaded holder and sighed. Buffy had been gone for a week now and he had mourned. He'd also stepped up the amount of vampires he dusted a night. He felt that somehow he needed to do more since she was gone. Faith was still in prison so she couldn't slay.
Cordelia's visions kept coming and he was there for them. But he had spoken to Wesley and told him that he was going to need some space. Wesley understood but insisted that Angel talk to one of them now and then to stay level.
Fred seemed to be the most understanding. She'd come to his room in the mornings and read to him from a book of her choosing. He liked it. It was a nice change. Fred often liked to read fairy tales and such.
But life was a far cry from a fairy tale.
He slipped his coat on as he headed out the door. Tonight he'd do something a little bit different. He wasn't going to prowl the streets. He was going to think of Buffy and patrol the cemeteries.
The major cemeteries showed rare action so he headed for a smaller one he had seen a couple of times. Smaller meant only around a hundred graves.
And a girl with a boom box?
Angel parked a block away and jogged silently back to where he could get a look at her.
She had the boom box sitting on a gravestone, playing some alternative rock song.
"It starts with one thing…"
He heard the undertones of a piano in the song. Closing his eyes briefly, he turned his attention back to the girl.
She looked about sixteen, medium height, slim build dressed in hip hugging jeans that got baggier as they fell down to her black combat boots.
"Time is a valuable thing, watch it fly by as the pendulum swings, watch it count down to the end of the day, the clock ticks life away..."
Angel's eyes drifted back up as she started to dance. She had on a blue baby-doll tee with the word "Diva" scrolled in silver. Her eyes were closed on her tan oval face. Her full lips were pressed almost into a pout. She turned, flinging her long black braid of hair around.
"I had to fall, and lose it all, but in the end it doesn't even matter..."
She reminded him a lot of Faith in the way she moved, a grace and style that could be summed up in one word. Deadly.
Her dance wasn't even slowed as a new vampire rose from a grave ten feet from her. The girl opened her bright blue eyes and danced her way closer to the new vampire and pulled a stake from a deep pocket. Her fighting was perfectly timed with the music.
Beat. Kick. Beat. Punch-kick. Beat. Punch-stake.
As the dust settled, she danced her way over to the box and turned it off with a sigh.
Angel came out from hiding. "Well, I was going to be a gentleman and offer you a hand. But it looks like you..."
"Yeah, I had it fine." She grinned and picked up the boom box.
He paused his step. "Right."
She started walking to a motorbike. "I was wondering when I would meet you." Her voice was smooth and strong.
"Excuse me?"
"You're Angel, right?" She strapped on the box to the back of the bike and pulled on a parka. "Vampire with a soul."
He grinned. "You've heard of me?"
She straddled the bike. "Oh yeah. The Council despises you and Wyndham-Pryce. Word is you two were responsible for Faith escaping."
He lost his grin. "She's in prison." He stepped up to her bike. "Council? That would make you..."
"Chandra, the vampire slayer." She kicked the bike into gear and pulled on her helmet. "See you around, Angel."
*~*~*
When Fred stepped into Angel's room that morning, he wasn't laying down. He was sitting and drawing. She quietly stepped up behind him. He was sketching a young girl with big eyes and a long dark braid.
"She's pretty."
Angel nodded.
Fred stepped a little closer. "So... who is she?"
He paused his sketching and stared at the drawing. "The new slayer."
"Oh my. You're friend that died. Is this..?"
"Her replacement." He closed his eyes. Why had that sounded so harsh? //Her replacement.// Buffy was really gone.
Fred sat on the floor in front of him, She was wearing a little pair of overalls with a white t-shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and her new glasses rested a little low on her nose. "You wanna talk about it?"
He grinned. "I'm fine."
She sighed. "Well 'fine' never got anybody anywhere special." She looked at him and blinked a few times. "Would you like me to read today?"
He set the drawing aside and nodded. "What did you bring?"
She held up the book in her hand with a smile. "The Little Mermaid. The real one, not the Disney version."
He smiled. "Sounds good."
*~*~*
Wesley took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. He had been reading over the books from Pylea for quite some time now, trying to decipher the three.
Cordelia walked over to him with a cup of coffee. "You should take a break."
He took the coffee gratefully and leaned back in his chair. "The translations are coming along nicely."
"Nicely slow?" She sat across from him.
"Well, yes, but I was trying to be optimistic." He grinned a little and sipped the coffee.
"Angel looked a little different this morning. A little less on the brood and more on the curious." She drummed her nails on the table.
"Well then why don't you ask him what he's thinking about?"
She snorted. "And get Mr. Broody to Mr. Moody? No thanks! I'll wait for the video to come out."
"It might be that pretty girl." Fred's quiet voice broke their thoughts.
Wesley looked to her. "Girl?"
Fred nodded and sat down. "He drew her picture. She's pretty. New Slayer."
Cordelia did a double-take. "New slayer?"
"That's what he said. 'Course I didn't see her or talk to her so I wouldn't know." Fred sighed. "Does anyone want a taco?"
*~*~*
Angel went out the back that night to avoid confrontation from Wesley or Cordelia. He figured Fred probably told them about the new slayer and he wanted to see her alone. Figuring it was his best bet, he headed toward the same cemetery.
He had to wait a couple of hours before he heard the hum of her motorbike approach. She didn't have the stereo with her this time. She parked and hopped off, shedding her parka again and pulling a stake from her belt. Looked like she wasn't dancing tonight. She was here for the hunt.
There were two other vampires this time and Angel stood ready to help her, but she didn't need it. Her style was almost flawless. The two vampires were no match.
As she finished, she turned to the tree where he was. "You can come out, Angel."
He stepped forward and nodded. "You're really good."
She smiled for the first time. "Thanks. I've heard you're pretty good too."
He grinned. "Thanks."
She stepped closer. "So what are you here for?"
"I came to see you. Why are you here?"
She looked around. "It's a cemetery. The safest place to be."
"Why is that?"
"Because everyone is dead." She grinned at her own joke.
"It's hard to understand how a cemetery raised its burial cost and blamed it on the cost of living." Angel grinned.
She paused. "Was that a joke?"
He lost his grin. "It was an attempt."
She smiled. "Look, I'd like to get to know you. And meet this Wyndham-Pryce guy. The Council really doesn't like you two but I think that there's something to learn if you're still fighting the good fight."
"Your Watcher going to be okay with this?"
"My watcher doesn't expect me back from patrol for another hour and a half."
He nodded. "Follow me."
To be continued…