Sunnydale High School, 2130 hours.
A female figure dressed in all black from head to toe crept up to the trees that lined the south section of the Sunnydale high school. Through the balaclava that covered her head, she peered through her dark tinted goggles as she hid behind one of the thick-trunked trees peppered all over the school premises. She peered at the empty parking lot and smiled underneath her balaclava before looking at the windows, and cameras along the wall and roof of the school.
Concentrating, the figure mentally disabled the camera's looking down at the school grounds, by pulling them out of their housings, and watched as they fell onto the grass below. With the camera feeds on that side of the school taken out, the figure silently crept up to one of the windows on the first floor, and mentally undid the latch on the inside. She then opened the window by sliding it with her gloved hands to the left before slipping into the darkened classroom. She then She had already spent weeks hacking into the city planning office and looking through the blueprints to the school. She knew where everything was, including where the new security cameras were installed.
And there were a few in the hallway right outside.
Covered in darkness, the figure crouched down before making her way to the classroom door. Once there, she remained crouched down in the shadows before getting up slightly so that she could look out the square framed window that looked out into the hallway. Upon seeing the camera that was peering down at the hallway, she cut the wiring… and then the small red light on the camera disappeared.
'Ten minutes,' thought the figure to herself as she opened the door while mentally taking out another camera, 'based on what I've read on the Sunnydale police response history, it'll be ten minutes before anyone gets here.'
But the figure still rushed through the hallways, cutting the feeds to the cameras on her way. She cut the cameras everywhere she could, everywhere she passed. She didn't want anyone to know where she was going. As the cameras were noiselessly cut, the figure reached the room she was looking for. Ducking down, she remembered the plans she had seen on the school security system and took out the camera's in the room before mentally unlocking the door. Opening the door with her gloved hand, the figure stood up and made sure that all the cameras were gone. Smiling under the balaclava at the sounds of sirens in the distance thanks to her enhanced hearing, the figure unzipped her jacket… revealing a red tie-dyed T-Shirt underneath. She reached into the inside of her jacket and took out a folder while she walked around the main counter. She looked at the contents of the folder and then placed it in the 'transfers in' box at the school administrator's desk.
She knew that everything was now set, that she had hacked into the school after receiving her documents in Los Angeles from a 'reputable' demonic forger. All she had to do was to place the folder in the box, and then she'll be coming back the next day as a new student from Ireland. Walking out of the office, she locked the door and then closed it behind her before running through the halls cutting the camera feeds.
It was just as the police were already entering the school ground, that the figure was exiting the other way out of the school grounds. The figure kept running, one part of her was begging the other to stop what she was going to do; what she had been planning to do for so long.
For a little over two hundred years.
'Shut up!' she thought to herself as she ran, 'I'll take my time, and then I'll have my revenge. He'll pay… he'll pay for what he did. And my so-called morality will not stop me.'
Sun Towers Apartments, 2230hours.
A young girl, about twenty years old with short, dark brown hair that reached down to her shoulders was about to pass an alleyway while walking toward the lit apartment complex a few meters away. She was in a simple pair of dark blue jeans, and a black leather jacket that went up to her waist with a red tie-dyed t-shirt underneath. Her sneakers were making crunching noises on the pavement as she walked on some of the dead leaves that had fallen thanks to the gentle breeze that was travelling through the air. Getting closer to the twenty story apartment complex, the girl looked over her shoulder when she heard footsteps behind her, and smiled at the two gentlemen staring at her with, what could only be described as, hunger in their eyes.
"Hello, gentlemen," said the girl in an Irish accent as she turned and placed her hand on her hips, "can I help you?"
"Well," said one of the men while rubbing his hands together as he continued strolling towards her, "we can keep you company. I mean, we're not sure you know about the Sunnydale nightlife. We'd like to show you a good time, and it does get pretty dangerous for a young thing like you all alone."
"Yea," replied the other one who had his hands in his pockets, "how about we gentlemen take you where you need to go, and then we can get a drink. I don't know about you, but we're thirsty."
"Thirsty, huh?" said the female as she smirked. She was using her hearing to hear for any heartbeats, but she got nothing at all. Taking a few steps forward, she placed her hands on the sides of both their heads. The two of them looked surprised at the girl's forwardness, but that surprise soon gave way to a smile on each of their faces, "believe me, boys, I'm thirsty too. But you don't do anything for me."
"Come now," one of the men was about to say something when he and his friends stepped back upon seeing the yellow eyes and the fangs in her mouth, however, she was missing the familiar forehead ridges of their kind. The two of them looked at each other in surprise before 'vamping' out and growling at the girl.
"You do not want to get in with me, little boy," snarled the girl as she brought her arms to her side and extended her fingers with her palms facing out. The two vampires' eyes went wide when the girl's fingernails seemed to grow. Eventually, the nails looked like blades that extended from her fingers, the tips and edges looking sharp enough to slice their heads clean off. They looked back at the smile on the female's tilted head before taking another step back, "run, little boys. You do not want to take me. I am nothing like you, and…"
"Abomination," whispered one of the vampires.
"Abomination?" hissed the girl retracting her nails before she leapt forward. She grabbed the vampire that called her an Abomination by the throat, and then pushed him hard into an alleyway. He was flung into the side of a dumpster, and then flopped onto the ground groaning. She wanted to be off the street even though it was mostly empty, with only a few people walking around in the distance. Far enough for them not to hear what was happening. The girl glared at the other vampire while baring her fangs, an action that made him bring his hands up, "run, and if you tell this to anyone… to your friends, to your next, to whoever your leader is? I have your scent. I will find you, and…"
"I.. I won't," stammered the vampire who changed to his human face while the girl still had her fangs extended and her eyes yellow, "I.. I'll go, and…"
The girl snarled at him before turning into the alleyway when she heard the vampire who slammed into the side of the dumpster earlier cursing her while getting onto his feet. She leapt at him while the other vampire ran off into the night; the girl heard the footsteps running away from them while she gave a backhanded slap across the vampire's face. He was flung into another wall, hitting it hard, before the girl dashed towards him. She then picked him up by the back of his collar and then he was thrown further into the alleyway. Under the cover of darkness, the girl could see clearly as the vampire was slowly getting up while she extended the nails on her right hand. The man, already up on his feet, and limping towards her, taunted the girl who rushed at him. She ducked the punch heading for her head. She then, while on one knee, stabbed the vampire in the abdomen before pulling out her hand. She saw the vampire step back in stunned silence, his hands on the bleeding wounds before she got to her feet, and in one swift motion, swung her arm and sliced his head clean off. As she retracted her fingernails, the body of the vampire turned to dust.
Smiling as she licked the blood of her fingernails, the girl walked out of the alleyway, and back onto the pavement that led to the apartment complex. Opening the door, and smiling at the personnel at the front desk, she reached into her jacket and took out an envelope. Handing it to the man at the front desk, she waited and looked around the brightly lit and ornately decorated lobby before being told that he needed to call the manager; that they usually checked people in during the day, and that it was their policy for nobody to move in at night.
"Even for one who's renting the penthouse?" asked the girl.
"One moment, Miss O'Connell," said the man, his face flushed due to being unsure of what to do, before he dialled a number on the phone and then placed the receiver on his ear. The young woman looked around and smiled at the tables and fancy chairs that were spread out all over the lobby, and she was instantly brought back to a party in Marseille, France. The day she drank her first noble-born blood, she had taken the man's gold with her after she was done… leaving the dead man on his seat with his head bowed down on the table.
Back in the present day, the young woman was brought out of her reverie by a balding, stocky man, who was approaching her from the left.
"Miss Elizabeth O'Connell?"
"Beth," she replied as the man nodded his head.
"Sorry for the misunderstanding," said the man as Beth nodded her head, "your apartment is ready."
"It had better be," said Beth, "given the amount I've already paid."
"A small, innocent, misunderstanding," said the man while he glanced over at the desk clerk who looked away red-faced. The man then turned back to looked at Beth before asking her if she had more bags with her than the ones that had already arrived more than three hours ago.
"No," replied Beth before she sighed and rubbed the back of her head, "I do have to apologize as well. My flight from Los Angeles was overbooked and given my luck… my bags left with the flight. I had them send the bags here once the plane landed, and here I am."
"No apologies needed," said the manager as he motioned towards the elevator, "this way, Miss."
Beth followed the manager, but not before glaring at the clerk from earlier who looked away embarrassed. She followed the man to the elevator, and then took the elevator to the twentieth floor. Once there, she was led into a red carpeted hallway that a single door on either side of the walls. And there was an ornately decorated door at the end of the hallway as the manager dug into his pocket, and then took out a key card. Once the card was inserted into the electronic lock, there was a buzzing sound followed by a click as the lock disengaged, and the manager turned the handle and pulled the door open. Beth walked in, with the first sight being a curtained wall of glass that was already pulled away to reveal the bright lights of Sunnydale beyond. She turned to the manager, on the way glancing at a set of three large bags in the far corner of the room, and thanked him. She then gave him a tip before asking him for the number to a 'great pizza place'. Once Beth had the number, the manager walked out… closing the door behind him.
"Well, well," said a female's voice with Beth turning around sharply, her fingernails extended and her fangs drawn out. She happened to see a blonde female in a white blouse and jeans standing in the middle of the living room looking right at her. Beth tried to listen for a heartbeat but she heard nothing. She tried to pull a scent out of the air, but she got nothing. The blonde girl walked towards Beth with a smirk on her face and her arms folded over her chest, "look what the cat dragged into good ol' Sunnydale."
"Who are you?" growled Beth as she lowered herself to the floor in an attacking stance, "speak."
"Take it easy," said the blonde as she waved her arms and walked around the furnished living room while Beth stayed standing still, "I'm everywhere.. ummm…. So what name are you using this time? Caroline, Kate, Rose, Kathy.. ah, Kathy.. that's your…"
"Elizabeth."
"Elizabeth," said the blonde as Beth retracted her fingernails and stood up before taking a step forward, "who the hell are you?"
"You know who I am, Elizabeth," said the smiling young woman, "I've always been since the beginning of creation itself.. and I'll be here when everything in the universe dies, but I've never been able to manifest myself.. until now. You're the main reason I gained a hold on this reality.. you and.. well, there was another reason, but…"
"How am I… wait, who are you?" demanded a confused Beth as she narrowed her eyebrows at the girl.
"I am Evil itself, little girl," said the blonde as she walked through the dining table towards Beth, who jumped back in shock, "I am the First Evil. And you, you are going to do me a great favour."
"Hah," chuckled Beth as she shook her head and her body eased, "I don't care who you are, or what you want, I…"
"Oh, our needs coincide," said the First, "there's someone the both of us hate. Someone who I need out of the way for my plan to work. You know who it is, the one who killed you… the monster with the face of an angel."
"Liam," whispered Beth before shaking her head, "I've heard rumours that he's been spotted in and around the High School in Sunnydale. That is the only reason why I am here. So, I am not here to fulfil some wish fantasy of yours… I am here to find out why he has been here, of all places, for the past one and a half years."
"Oh," said the blonde with a smile on her face, "I mean it when I say that our needs intersect. Let me guess, you want him to suffer as much as you have… and then you want him dead. Am I wrong?"
"No," growled Beth, "but I will do this on my timetable, I have this place for a year after all. And.."
"Take your time," said the blonde, "I know what you are, and how patient you've been. One hint? The reason why your Liam's staying in this God-forsaken town?"
"What?" asked Beth.
"You'll see tomorrow," said the First chuckling before vanishing in front of Beth's eyes. Beth just stayed stood in the penthouse alone with her hands rolled into fists for a few seconds. Shaking her head, she then headed for the phone and called the local pizza delivery service.
She was hungry; so she was going to have a bite to eat followed by a drink, and then she'd go to bed. After all, it was her first day at Sunnydale High tomorrow. And she had to leave a good first impression.
TBC.