Chapter 6
BRONZE
All this time, whilst the others were talking and laughing, Davey was quickly getting bored. Being the introverted one, he felt left out and slipped out silently to get some fresh air. The matter of the nephilim was still on his mind. Now that it was over, he wondered why he didn't dive for cover when all the others did. As he was thinking this, he heard a scream coming from around the corner. Instinctively, he ran to where the scream had came from.
To his horror, he saw a young girl, probably no more than seventeen, standing there, face to face with what was unmistakably the demon they saw earlier. It's red eyes seemed to hold her in place, staring straight at her, into her soul.
Her soul, he thought, that's strange, she isn't screaming, It was the girl behind the dumpster who screamed, probably her friend. Shit, that thing's sucking her soul right out of her.
That final thought angered him, he was angry at himself for just standing there when someone's life was in danger, angry at himself for letting this take place and not doing anything about it. Without thinking, he dived at the demon, breaking its eye contact with the girl. But as with angel, he found that upon contact with the creature, his bare skin was burnt, the demon was like fire to the touch. The previously immobile girl was now fully revived, seeing the nephilim, she screamed and ran away with her friend close behind her.
Just you and me now, Davey thought, his arm and hand throbbing with the pain of a burn. Strangely enough, the demon didn't attack him, it just looked at him in an almost pitying way and shrank away into a line of smoke.
"Davey!" Buffy called, seeing him alone in the back alley of the Bronze. She had come out on a hunch and didn't really notice anything wrong, well, until she saw him. She didn't realised he had left the Bronze, so quiet was his departure. "Davey?" she said again, "what are you doing here?" Angel came up behind her.
"I was out for some air," he answered feebly, in the dark and with so many tattoos, she couldn't see the burn on his arm, but he can feel the pain and grimaced slightly. Angel looked at him, knowing he was hiding something.
"You saw it didn't you?" Angel asked, not totally sure how he knew.
Davey looked up sharply, "How did you know?"
Angel shrugged, "I can sense it." Buffy looked at Davey intently, trying to get him to tell her the truth. In reality, Davey himself didn't know why he was trying to cover up what had happened, he was confused at why the nephilim didn't try to attack him, why it gave him that look.
"I don't know," he said at last, "it happened so fast, it's gone, it- it just disappeared." He felt tired, never in all the touring he had done had he felt so drained. The pain in his arm was making him feel dizzy and in the end, under Buffy and Angel's scrutinizing gazes, he sank onto the floor and brought his knees up to his chin, unconsciously rocking back and forth lightly.
Buffy knelt down beside him, looking concerned. He didn't seem to notice her so she put her hand on his arm in a comforting way. He flinched as if her touch was red hot, causing her to quickly remove her arm. She noticed that he was shaking, his shoulders hunched up and his face hidden.
"Hey! There you are!" a loud voice cut through the darkness. Davey recognised the voice as Adam's but he did not look up. "Davey? You ok?"
Davey mumbled something inaudible and continued to ignore him. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he looked up, his face was streaked with black.
"Dude," Smith mumbled, "something wrong?" Davey shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. Shakily, he tried to get up and Hunter offered him a hand. Again, he flinched at the pain where Hunter touched his hand.
Adam and Smith exchanged worried glances. The drummer took a step closer to his friend and asked "Did you even notice that he was gone?"
Smith shook his head and looked at Adam again, "I thought he was still in there, weird huh?" Adam shrugged slightly and took a cigarette from his pocket and lighted it.
Meanwhile, back inside the Bronze, Willow and Xander were discussing supernatural experiences with Jade.
"So I take it that you guys have seen quite a lot?" Jade inquired.
Xander nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, you know, vampires, apocalypse demons, lots of them around at the moment. Erm… witches, mummies, zombies…but those are the common movie monsters. More often than not we get something rare… like tonight for instance."
"Xander even dated an Incan mummy once, erm, and a giant praying mantis," Willow added.
"What about you? Robot, werewolf? Very normal much?" Xander retorted.
"Whoa guys, don't start."
"What about you?" Xander asked Jade, "What have you guys seen?"
"Probably not as much as you two but we've met our fair share of ghosts and stuff. Once, some witch tried to steal our souls or something, that was kinda weird. We met a sand demon when we went to Australia and a history of other weird occurrences." Jade stopped to think for a while. Willow and Xander looked at him eagerly, wanting to hear more. "That's more or less it…"
"Cool," Xander muttered, "nice to know that we are not the only ones who feel this whole nature vibe." Willow nodded.
"Yep, it's the evil that keeps on giving."
Jade smiled at Xander's last comment, "Yeah, nice to know."
Nodding again, Willow stood up and walked over to the counter to order yet another cup of coffee. As she approached the counter, she caught site of Buffy coming through the door, closely followed by Angel and the rest of the band.
"Buffy!" she called, gesturing to the bartender, in a question of whether or not she wanted more latte. Buffy shook her head and sat down at the booth with Jade and Xander. Willow took her coffee and quickly rejoined them.
"Hey! You're back!" she stated, when Adam interrupted.
"Yeah, but not for long, guys, I think we should go…the dance is tomorrow and we need to get some rest."
"Sounds reasonable," Xander muttered and stole Willow's mocha. Jade stood up and joined his band mates.
"Wee, see you round."
The band and Smith left the Bronze and Xander started bombarding the Slayer with questions, "Where did you go? You didn't even tell us."
Buffy shrugged in reply, too wrapped up in her thoughts to bother answering him. "Maybe we should go too," and without waiting for a reply, she got up and that more or less decided it.
"Need a ride?" came a quiet voice from behind them. Willow jumped but soon relaxed again, realizing it was Oz.
"It's ok, I'll go with Angel" the slayer said. Oz turned to look at Willow and Xander, who nodded gratefully and they left the Bronze together.
BRONZE
All this time, whilst the others were talking and laughing, Davey was quickly getting bored. Being the introverted one, he felt left out and slipped out silently to get some fresh air. The matter of the nephilim was still on his mind. Now that it was over, he wondered why he didn't dive for cover when all the others did. As he was thinking this, he heard a scream coming from around the corner. Instinctively, he ran to where the scream had came from.
To his horror, he saw a young girl, probably no more than seventeen, standing there, face to face with what was unmistakably the demon they saw earlier. It's red eyes seemed to hold her in place, staring straight at her, into her soul.
Her soul, he thought, that's strange, she isn't screaming, It was the girl behind the dumpster who screamed, probably her friend. Shit, that thing's sucking her soul right out of her.
That final thought angered him, he was angry at himself for just standing there when someone's life was in danger, angry at himself for letting this take place and not doing anything about it. Without thinking, he dived at the demon, breaking its eye contact with the girl. But as with angel, he found that upon contact with the creature, his bare skin was burnt, the demon was like fire to the touch. The previously immobile girl was now fully revived, seeing the nephilim, she screamed and ran away with her friend close behind her.
Just you and me now, Davey thought, his arm and hand throbbing with the pain of a burn. Strangely enough, the demon didn't attack him, it just looked at him in an almost pitying way and shrank away into a line of smoke.
"Davey!" Buffy called, seeing him alone in the back alley of the Bronze. She had come out on a hunch and didn't really notice anything wrong, well, until she saw him. She didn't realised he had left the Bronze, so quiet was his departure. "Davey?" she said again, "what are you doing here?" Angel came up behind her.
"I was out for some air," he answered feebly, in the dark and with so many tattoos, she couldn't see the burn on his arm, but he can feel the pain and grimaced slightly. Angel looked at him, knowing he was hiding something.
"You saw it didn't you?" Angel asked, not totally sure how he knew.
Davey looked up sharply, "How did you know?"
Angel shrugged, "I can sense it." Buffy looked at Davey intently, trying to get him to tell her the truth. In reality, Davey himself didn't know why he was trying to cover up what had happened, he was confused at why the nephilim didn't try to attack him, why it gave him that look.
"I don't know," he said at last, "it happened so fast, it's gone, it- it just disappeared." He felt tired, never in all the touring he had done had he felt so drained. The pain in his arm was making him feel dizzy and in the end, under Buffy and Angel's scrutinizing gazes, he sank onto the floor and brought his knees up to his chin, unconsciously rocking back and forth lightly.
Buffy knelt down beside him, looking concerned. He didn't seem to notice her so she put her hand on his arm in a comforting way. He flinched as if her touch was red hot, causing her to quickly remove her arm. She noticed that he was shaking, his shoulders hunched up and his face hidden.
"Hey! There you are!" a loud voice cut through the darkness. Davey recognised the voice as Adam's but he did not look up. "Davey? You ok?"
Davey mumbled something inaudible and continued to ignore him. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he looked up, his face was streaked with black.
"Dude," Smith mumbled, "something wrong?" Davey shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. Shakily, he tried to get up and Hunter offered him a hand. Again, he flinched at the pain where Hunter touched his hand.
Adam and Smith exchanged worried glances. The drummer took a step closer to his friend and asked "Did you even notice that he was gone?"
Smith shook his head and looked at Adam again, "I thought he was still in there, weird huh?" Adam shrugged slightly and took a cigarette from his pocket and lighted it.
Meanwhile, back inside the Bronze, Willow and Xander were discussing supernatural experiences with Jade.
"So I take it that you guys have seen quite a lot?" Jade inquired.
Xander nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, you know, vampires, apocalypse demons, lots of them around at the moment. Erm… witches, mummies, zombies…but those are the common movie monsters. More often than not we get something rare… like tonight for instance."
"Xander even dated an Incan mummy once, erm, and a giant praying mantis," Willow added.
"What about you? Robot, werewolf? Very normal much?" Xander retorted.
"Whoa guys, don't start."
"What about you?" Xander asked Jade, "What have you guys seen?"
"Probably not as much as you two but we've met our fair share of ghosts and stuff. Once, some witch tried to steal our souls or something, that was kinda weird. We met a sand demon when we went to Australia and a history of other weird occurrences." Jade stopped to think for a while. Willow and Xander looked at him eagerly, wanting to hear more. "That's more or less it…"
"Cool," Xander muttered, "nice to know that we are not the only ones who feel this whole nature vibe." Willow nodded.
"Yep, it's the evil that keeps on giving."
Jade smiled at Xander's last comment, "Yeah, nice to know."
Nodding again, Willow stood up and walked over to the counter to order yet another cup of coffee. As she approached the counter, she caught site of Buffy coming through the door, closely followed by Angel and the rest of the band.
"Buffy!" she called, gesturing to the bartender, in a question of whether or not she wanted more latte. Buffy shook her head and sat down at the booth with Jade and Xander. Willow took her coffee and quickly rejoined them.
"Hey! You're back!" she stated, when Adam interrupted.
"Yeah, but not for long, guys, I think we should go…the dance is tomorrow and we need to get some rest."
"Sounds reasonable," Xander muttered and stole Willow's mocha. Jade stood up and joined his band mates.
"Wee, see you round."
The band and Smith left the Bronze and Xander started bombarding the Slayer with questions, "Where did you go? You didn't even tell us."
Buffy shrugged in reply, too wrapped up in her thoughts to bother answering him. "Maybe we should go too," and without waiting for a reply, she got up and that more or less decided it.
"Need a ride?" came a quiet voice from behind them. Willow jumped but soon relaxed again, realizing it was Oz.
"It's ok, I'll go with Angel" the slayer said. Oz turned to look at Willow and Xander, who nodded gratefully and they left the Bronze together.