Chapter Three

Giles opened the door, knowing who it was. He'd gotten a phone call from the group earlier, saying they were coming to England. Buffy, Dawn and Andrew were already there. It was Spike and Dru who stood outside now, a rather shaken expression on Spike's face.

"Come in," Giles said. Spike walked in, Drusilla closing the door behind him.

"What happened?" Buffy asked Spike as he sat down on the sofa in the living room.

"What do you mean?" Spike asked her.

"You look… scared," She said.

"Nightmare," was all Spike would say on the matter. He didn't even mention what the nightmare had been about. Just one word was all the response Buffy could get from him. "Got any blood?" He asked Giles.

"In the refrigerator. I'm not going to get it for you, I'm not your slave," Giles said.

"I'll get it," Andrew said, rushing into the kitchen to warm up a mug of blood for Spike.

"Get some for Dru, too!" Spike called after him. He lay down on the sofa, closing his eyes. "Have you seen that girl recently?" He asked Buffy.

"Girl...?"

"You haven't seen her then," Spike said. Buffy shook her head. "I have. She's stalking me. Think she's chosen me to be her next victim. Did this to me," He pushed back the sleeve of his coat to show her the burn. It had begun to heal, but it still looked rather bad. And it was still clearly in the shape of a hand.

"That's just like that movie!" Andrew said, walking into the room carrying two mugs of blood. "That remake of a Japanese horror film, not the Grudge, the other one…"

"The Ring? Suppose it is a bit. Hand shaped burn and all. 'Cept I was wide awake when I got this, and I didn't watch a damn cursed videotape," Spike said.

"Who is this girl?" Buffy asked.

"Well I don't bloody know, do I?" Spike said, his voice getting louder as he became frustrated.

"She's the little witch who made me half human…" Dru said. "And sent Angel back,"

"She… she made you half human?" Giles asked, cleaning his glasses. Buffy groaned.

"What is it now, Giles?" She asked.

"Well, if this girl was able to do that… then she must be a very powerful witch. And she clearly wants to start some trouble." Giles explained.

"What kind of trouble?"

"How would I know?" Giles asked her, putting his glasses back on. "Did you catch her name?" He asked. Spike shook his head.

"Miss Edith told me she's called Maya," Drusilla said. They all watched as Giles reached for some books and began researching. It soon became clear that he would take a while.

…

It was midday, and Angel was still awake. He didn't know what it was that prevented him from sleeping, but it must have been something. He had the feeling there was someone watching him, but every time he looked… no one was there. Did it have something to do with the girl? She always seemed to be around. He had a bad feeling that she was planning something. Something bad. Apocalypse bad? He wasn't sure…

…

Andrew shivered, the shaking of the bag he was carrying showing him just how cold he was.

"Curses," He muttered. "If I only had known England was so cold..." He put the rubbish in the bin at the end of the garden and rushed back inside. The door was locked.

"Guys! Open up!" He shouted. He banged with his fists on the door, trying to get them to hear. "Guys? Come on, this isn't funny! It isn't funny at all…" He sank to the floor, grumpy. Was anyone even inside? He sat there in the cold outside the porch, growing increasingly worried. They had to realise he was out there some time, right? They couldn't just leave him out there… They couldn't.

"Andrew Wells. That's your name, isn't it?" Andrew turned abruptly at the voice. His eyes widened in fear.

"You're that girl… The one Spike and Drusilla talked about… Maya…" He said. He voice was shaking, whether from fear or from the cold, no one knew. Maya smiled.

"That's me," She said. She held out her hand. Andrew stared blankly at it. "You're supposed to shake it," He clarified. Andrew didn't move. "Ok, don't, see if I care."

"What do you want with me?" Andrew asked. Maya laughed, a sadistic sound that hardly suited her childish figure. She probably wasn't really as young as she looked, but it was disturbing nonetheless.

"With you? Nothing. Nothing. At. All." She said. "But there is something I want, and it is here,"

"What is it?" Andrew asked, trying to sound braver than he felt.

"The Slayer," Maya said. "Who else? Everyone wants to kill her. I'm just going to have a bit more luck with it. And mess around with her head, to,"

"But it's not just Buffy you're trying to hurt, it's Spike and Dru and Angel…"

"Those three could be useful. Besides, like I said, I'm trying to mess with head a bit too," Something about that girl scared Andrew. Not that it was hard to scare him…

"Get away from me!" He said. "Or Spike's going to-"

"They can't hear you!" Maya said. "I made it that way. Unless for some reason someone comes outside, no one inside that house can see or hear you." Andrew really was scared now. He didn't have any weapons… But why would he need them? She was just a little girl, really. Wasn't she? "Come here," She said. To Andrew's horror, he started walking towards her. What was happening? He wasn't doing this… Was she? Against his will, he felt himself being pulled towards her. She held out her hand and he took it. He didn't know what was happening right now, but he knew it wasn't good. He felt dizzy, and he couldn't see anything. Everything was black, all around, whatever way he looked. And then he felt himself flying through the air, and not in a pleasant, bird flying kind of way. In an 'a giant thing threw me' kind of way. He felt the impact of the ground two minutes later. It hurt more than anything he could have imagined. He tasted blood in his mouth. Lots of it. Some of his teeth seemed to be missing, and a couple of his bones had to be broken. He could hear Maya laughing at him. He wanted to yell at her, but he didn't have the strength. He looked around. This wasn't Giles' house. This wasn't even England, as far as he knew. It looked like some kind of desert… Who knew sand could hurt that much?