**********
Now that I knew that vampires were in town, it made walking around at night an exercise in paranoia (not that that wasn't normal for me now). As I made my way towards where I was told the Bronze was I noticed the town seemed literally... well, dead pretty much summed it up.
No dogs or cats outside.
No people going out for an after-dinner stroll.
No signs of life outside at all.
Needless to say I was getting to be a bit freaked by the lack of activity around this town. This did not bode well for my hope of a quick and easy nest removal like I had hoped. For no one to be out and about at night, even in this small of a town, there had to be a very good reason to keep everyone in. My guess of course: Vampires. And lots of them.
This was just not shaping up to be my week
***
I made it to the Bronze without a single sighting, but that didn't ease my mind in the slightest. I just couldn't shake that creepy feeling I was getting.
The Bronze at least helped to lighten my mood a bit. It seemed to be doing good business (which doesn't say much since it's the only club in town). I paid the cover and headed in to find Willow and the others. It took me awhile to make my way through the crowded club, but I finally found them clustered around a small table talking.
"Hey guys. It may have taken me awhile to find the place but I made it." I greeted.
"Hi, Xander. Glad you could make it," Willow said.
"X-man! You made it just in time to watch me work," exclaimed Jesse.
"Say what?"
"He means get shot down by all the girls," whispered Willow conspiratorially.
"Got it." I grinned.
"Hey! I heard that Rosenburg! Just watch, I'll prove you wrong tonight."
"Feel free," she said grinning.
Jesse headed off while I turned to Oz. "What's up with you then, man? How often do you play here?"
"Couple times a month."
Willow brightened considerably and continued excitedly. "Oz's band is great. You have to come back tomorrow to hear them. The Dingoes Ate My Baby is their name. They play just about every time there is a free slot here at the Bronze and they sometimes play at the college too. You should have heard them last week...."
"Will, baby, I think you are scaring him." Oz interrupted.
I laughed and said, "No problem. I get the feeling Wills here can fill me in on every single one of your apperances in under ten minutes. Though I would be interested to see her try."
The redheaded girl gave me a look before saying, "Ha, Ha, very funny guys. I know I have a tendency to babble and ramble on. I can't help it. It's like a genetic disorder for me to babble. Well maybe not genetic, inherited probably..." She glanced up at our smirking faces and stopped abruptly. Willow groaned before turning to smack Oz's shoulder. "You're supposed to stop me when I do that."
"Sorry," said Oz while not looking the least bit repentant.
She gave one more glare at him and looked at me. "How was your first day at Sunnydale? Are you finished unpacking yet?"
"I'm coping, and I already unpacked the essentials." Stakes, crosses, holy water... "Town seems kinda quiet at night though."
"Yeah, most people tend to hurry home and settle in for the night. I guess they just want to relax after work."
That or don't want to end up an appetizer. I glanced around the club looking for anyone out of place, or just out of a grave, and spotted Faith making her way through the club. Time for some early recon.
"Hey, what do you guys know about that brunette girl over there?"
"Who? Faith? Not much other than she is pretty new here too," Willow commented. "She tends to go through guys fairly fast, though. I've already seen her around three different ones, and that is in the two months she's been here. Hangs around the library a lot too." She smiled chittered excitedly. "The library at Sunnydale is great! They have a bunch of older books in there, almost like in a museum or one of those old libraries that you might find in England. Oh, and the new librarian is from there too! He is really nice and..."
Oz nudged her. "Will."
Willow seemed to collapse after that. "Oh, sorry."
"No prob. Thanks for the info though, I appreciate it," I said while watching her pass through the crowd seemingly intent on something. I wonder what has her so focused, I wondered before getting ready to head after her when my eyes caught something.
Jesse.
Talking to a very pale girl in a catholic schoolgirl outfit. Something about her just struck me as wrong.
"Hey, do you guys know that girl who Jesse is talking to over there?" I questioned.
"Nope."
"No, not that I know, why?"
I ignored her question and asked, "Are there any other schools around here besides the college?"
Willow looked at me curiously before answering. "No, and again why?"
"I gotta ask her something," I said, then got up and hurried towards Jesse and the girl. I had a bad feeling about this.
As I pushed my way through the crouds, Jesse and his 'date' decided to head towards the back area, to the bathroom I hoped. I lost them when a large group of jocks crossed my path. I hurried to make up the lost time as I prayed that this wasn't what I thought it was. There was a small, unlit, storage room filled with chairs that would be an ideal spot for a feeding. I pulled out one of my cross stakes as I made my way carefully into the room. It was quiet with no signs of either Jesse or the girl. Maybe there was a back exit that I missed, I thought as I turned...
And walked right into the blonde girl who was reaching for me. I brushed her hand away and readied my stake for a quick short jab up into her chest...
Then my brain caught up with my eyes and I realized that it was the girl from History class who shared her book with me. God, I nearly killed her.
"Geez, scare me half to death will ya?" I said while taking deep breaths to slow my heart down. No, heart, you aren't supposed to try jumping out of my chest. I hate coming down off an adrenaline high.
"You?!? I come to ask if you're alright and you nearly take my head off!"
"Sorry, I don't like people sneaking up on me," I said apologetically. "Look, are there any exits back here?"
"What? You decided to freak and run?" she glared at me.
"No, this is important. Any exits, yes or no?"
"No."
"Thanks," I threw back and headed back to the front of the building hoping they haven't made it out yet. As I passed Willow and Oz's table, they glanced up at me and noticed my expression. I only hoped I didn't show blind panic on my face while I motioned them to stay. Maybe they might ignore it and wait for me to come back with an explanation. Maybe.
I didn't see them by the time I got out the front door but I did spot them quite a ways up the street heading back in the general direction of my house. Which was good for me since I at least knew a bit about that area. Mostly just houses, couple churches, a park, a graveyard... Graveyard!
I prayed as I quickened my pace.
***