two
Lillian Truscott was suspended in what seemed to be burning darkness.
Don't think about it, don't think about it...
Too late.
Whatever it was, it now held her captive. Lilly was now naked.
Naked and ashamed. She covered her exposed areas with her arms. Except for the poodle-shaped birthmark on her butt.
Am I in hell? I've been a good girl, for the most part.
No.
Yes, I have.
No. Dirty little girl with naughty secrets. Must be punished
No!
Living the lie. Liar. Liar!
An irritated Angel and Spike found themselves in a holding cell.
"Look, I don't know why he started hittin' me, acting like I went all denim demon on his arse or somethin'..."
"He acts like he knows you, Spike."
"I guess so, you git! Three guesses who's bagged and tagged us."
"The Initiative? Spike, they've been disbanded."
"That's what they want you to think. They've obviously gone worldwide, probably got UN funding or somethin'. Why don't we ask him?"
A Weevil.
"Wonder what kind of demon he is?" Angel said.
"An ugly one," Spike said.
"Well, what are they?" Captain Jack asked. 'They' were being scanned by Torchwood's high tech computers. "Human-Weevil hybrid?"
The scans said something else entirely.
"More like human-haemovore," Tosh said, looking up.
"Haemovores? Haven't heard much out of them since the last decade," Jack said.
"There was a documented case during the war."
"Well, maybe that explains their present condition," Tosh said. "Look at their temperature signatures".
Jack's eyes widened.
"Room temperature. They're not haemovores."
"I said they were more like, not exactly like," Tosh said.
"You mean vampires," Gwen said.
"Oh, state the obvious," Owen said.
"And here's the rest of our happy family," Jack said. "Did you retcon the situation?" he asked Owen.
"Six ounce dosage for the Stewart girl and an elephant tranq amount for that bodyguard," Owen lied.
"Oh, the missing girl's mother called," Gwen said. "She and the Stewart girl's father are on their way over here."
"Damn," Jack said.
"That complicates things?" Gwen said.
"What do you think?" Jack replied hastily. "Tosh, play back our 'guests' conversation."
Tosh hit a series of keystrokes.
"I guess so, you git! Three guesses who's bagged and tagged us."
"The Initiative? Spike, they've been disbanded."
"That's what they want you to think. "
"Search parameters for The Initiative."
Tosh did just that. To their surprise a lot of info accessed.
There were files on both their captives, dating back hundreds of years. And some blonde haired woman called The Slayer. The worldwide law firm Wolfram & Hart. All connected.
"We've got the wrong guys," Jack said, heading for the holding area.
"Wait a minute," Gwen said. "You're gonna turn them loose? Vampires?"
"They may be able to help," Jack said. "They're here, for a reason. I don't know what reason, but they might be able to find that Truscott girl. Gwen, I don't accept the fact they're flesh and blood demons, in spite of what we've just read, but we need them, for the moment."
"Jack!" Tosh called. "Come here!"
"What is it?"
"That signature. I've located a point of origin."
"Gwen, see if you can persuade our guests to help us," Jack said.
Great, Gwen thought. Those two are likely to drain me dry.
"Here are the two girls prior to the Hannah Montana concert at Hammersmith," Tosh said. CCTV showed them laughing, and Lilly's over-enthusiasm.
"Lively one, isn't she?" Owen said.
"Now take a look at this," Tosh continued.
An almost transparent shape stalked the girls.
"Don't tell me it's celebrity stalker gas from space," Owen said.
"Not gas," Tosh said. "This life form registers as inconclusive."
"I'm not surprised," Jack muttered.
"Who are you?" Lilly shouted.
Silence.
"What do you want with me?"
More silence.
"I'm not scared of you!" Lilly shouted defiantly.
Still more silence. The kind that crept under your skin, toyed with your nerves,
gradually building to prolonged agony.
I'm in hell.
Lilly began sobbing.
Not because of where she was, but because of the growing realization that she'd never see her parents, or her dog Thor, or Miley, again.
Miley. She loved her dearly. The sister she'd always wanted. Sometimes she wondered if her love went further than that. Hopelessness finally settled in.
Then she really cried.
And in the background, a sinister laugh track.