Chapter 5 – Hollaback Girl
I heard that you were talking shit
And you didn't think that I would hear it
People hear you talking like that, getting everybody fired up
So I'm ready to attack, gonna lead the pack
Gonna get a touchdown, gonna take you out
That's right, put your pom-poms downs, getting everybody fired up
So that's right dude, meet me at the bleachers
No principals, no student-teachers
Both of us want to be the winner, but there can only be one
So I'm gonna fight, gonna give it my all
Gonna make you fall, gonna sock it to you
That's right I'm the last one standing, another one bites the dust
A few times I've been around that track
So it's not just gonna happen like that
Because I ain't no hollaback girl
I ain't no hollaback girl
Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl
Rika had arrived at the library pretty fast, within about fifteen minutes on foot. The perks of Slayer speed. She had met with her Watcher in one of the reading rooms, where he had had his nose buried in a load of books like usual and had the computer turned on.
"So, what's the news?", she had asked.
"I found something that potentially might be our killer", Hugh responded. "A demon called Belphegor. It feeds on human life-force, as it sucks the life out of its victims, leaving no apparent cause of death."
"It sounds like it could be a fit", Rika had said and nodded. "So, how do I kill it?"
"It's not particularily powerful from what I reckon based upon my sources, so the usual things. Beheading should do the trick", Hugh had explained. "That's good to know."
"We'll do a tracking spell tomorrow night, to see if we can find it", Hugh had continued. "Meanwhile, maybe you could patrol tonight, see if you find anything out of the ordinary."
"Sure", Rika had replied. "I'm already on my way".
Hugh had followed her outside.
"Just take care of yourself", he had warned. "If you manage to stumble upon Belphegor by accident, be cautious. Don't let his mouth come near you, he uses it to drain your life-force".
"Okay, so no making out with the demon then", Rika had joked and nodded.
"I'm not joking." Hugh had suddenly seemed angry and Rika snapped.
"I can take care of myself you know!", she had spat. "I'm not a 16-year-old anymore."
Hugh had put his hand on her shoulder. He was almost like a father to her, which was good since she hadn't seen her own in a couple of months, not since Christmas. He was her American family. Well, except for the fact that neither of them was actually American. But still, she couldn't have made it without his support. He was the only person in the world she could talk to about her destiny and the work she had to do.
"I know, I just don't want you to get hurt."
She had calmed down a bit and smiled. "I won't."
After that, Rika had walked away, towards the cemetery. She was almost there, with a firm grip on the stake in her hand. Her slayer sense suddenly started tingling. "There's something here", she thought, but the thought came too late as she was knocked to the ground by something. She landed on a branch that snapped, but thankfully it didn't hurt. She looked up and saw a pair of fangs glowing in the moonlight. "Great, just what I was hoping for. A simple, stupid vamp." She kicked the vampire off of her, and it flew into one of the headstones nearby. She did a little flippy jump thing off the ground and stood up, fists raised, ready to kick ass. The vampire had gotten back on its feet as well and was now staring at her with a confused expression. He was merely a teenager, or had been when he was turned. She felt sorry for the poor kid, but it wasn't him anymore. Now there was only the demon.
"Tell me, have you ever heard the expression 'biting off more than you can chew?' ", Rika asked while tilting her head a bit so she could get a closer look of the vampire. He looked average, no strange cultish clothing or anything.
"The hell are you going on about?", the vampire asked angrily, but with a confused undertone to his voice. She could see the bloodthirst in his eyes. He'd definitely kill her if he got the chance. Fortunately for her and unfortunately for him, we wouldn't be getting that chance.
"Okay, how about the expression 'Oh God, my leg, my leg'?", she tried.
The vampire looked utterly confused and she used it to her advantage. She threw a punch and then kicked him in the knee. The vampire fell to the ground and bent over in a fetal position, screaming in pain while clutching his knee. "Oh God, my leg!", he screamed.
"See, now we're communicating", she said with a slight smile.
In an instant, the vampire got up from the ground and charged towards her with a slight limp. She anticipated his next move and hit him with a spin kick before he got a chance to do anything. The vampire landed on the ground a bit further away from her. She rushed towards it, the familiar adrenaline coursing through her veins. The vampire was attempting to get up, but she kicked it in the head right before staking it without hesitating one bit. The vampire turned into a pile of dust in front of her feet.
"Det var en tid sen det var så här lätt", she muttered to herself and brushes the dirt off her jeans with her hands. Then she heard a sound and looked up. She saw Sam and his friend standing a few meters away from her, with their mouths open in confusion. "Oh crap", she thought. "I have a feeling they won't believe the 'gangs on PCP' explanation".
Sam was worried sick when he and Dean rushed towards the cemetery. "Please God, let me save her. I can't lose another one." He was holding a crossbow, Dean had a stake and a bottle of Holy Water.
They arrived just in time to see Rika getting knocked down by the vampire, and see it bend over her. Sam felt helpless and worried and was about to fire the crossbow, when she kicked the vampire and it flew atleast four meters.
"What the hell?", he thought right about when Rika did this impressing jump off the ground by pressing her hands against the grass for leverage and jumping up with her back arched. The vampire had gotten up too and it was standing in front of her, just staring at her. Sam felt his jaw drop.
"Tell me, have you ever heard the expression 'biting off more than you can chew?' ", he heard her say with an air of nonchalant confidence.
The vampire looked at her, utterly confused and asked her what she was talking about. "Okay, how about the expression 'Oh God, my leg, my leg?' ", she quickly retorted.
"She knows", Sam thought. "She knows it's a vampire, and she's going to fight it. But how?"
She punched the vampire with ease, without even flinching and then quickly kicked its knee, upon which it fell to the ground and yelled exactly the thing she had predicted. He watched her delivering an impressing spinning kick, the vampire flying and her dusting it. He heard her say something in a language he didn't know – probably Swedish, it was her native language after all – and then she looked up, right at them.
She looked surprised for a moment, but then her expression became neutral and she walked towards them slowly with her hands raised.
"Okay, so I can explain", she said calmly. Then she noticed the weapons they were carrying and an expression of sudden realization appeared on her face "Ah, hunters. Pfft."
Sam felt confused. She knew they were hunters? How did she know about that? And let alone, how did she know about vampires and killing them? And where had she learned how to fight like that? His head was spinning with all of the questions, she was just a girl. They had never, ever seen a girl this small single-handedly taking down anything before, let alone a vampire. How was it possible?
"I figured there was something strange about you two", she said and smiled. "I knew you weren't a journalist!"
"Who are you?", Dean asked. Sam saw his brother was just about as confused as himself.
"Maybe we should talk somewhere more private, I'll explain it as well as I can, I promise", she said and Sam nodded in agreement. "You guys have a car?"
"Yeah", Dean said, still looking very suspicious. Sam couldn't blame him, but instinctively he knew that Rika was one of the good guys and not another Meg. He just didn't get the evil vibe from her.
They all walked towards the Impala, without a word. Dean kept a cautious eye on Rika and when they reached the car Dean showed her to the back seat and she sat down there, Sam and Dean in their usual places. Sam looked as Dean handed her a bottle of Holy Water and she looked at him in disbelief.
"Is this really necessary?", she asked him and raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah", Dean said. "If you're human it shouldn't hurt you, just a bit of Holy Water"
Rika drank the entire bottle in a series of gulps and threw it back towards Dean who caught it mid-air. She didn't even flinch. "Happy now?"
"So, where to?", Dean asked, seemingly satisfied and calmed down by her reaction to the Holy Water.
"My place", she said and gave him an address. The drive to her apartment was silent.
Dean was just about as confused as his brother at the cemetery. He was impressed by Rika, though. She was gorgeous, funny and apparently a pretty good fighter. He thought it was amazing someone so petite could take out a vampire all by herself. But he had to make sure she wasn't a demon or vampire, with that kind of strength. He was happy when she passed the Holy Water test. It meant she was human, or at least, not a demon. They might not have to waste her. "I'm so marrying that chick if she's human", he thought when he was driving towards her apartment.
When they got there, Sam and Dean followed her up the stairs to her apartment. She unlocked the door, opened it and gestured them to step inside.
Rika followed Sam and the other guy into her own apartment. Funny, she didn't even know Sam's friend's name yet and here he was, inside her apartment. Now that she had figured out they were hunters, things would be much easier to explain. She was a bit concerned though, as to how they would react to the truth about her.
Most hunters were amateurs in comparison to her. They lacked her strength and speed. Hugh had told her about so called 'hunters' before, and that Slayers usually avoided revealing their identity to hunters who rarely even knew Slayers existed. But the best ones did. Still, they were playing in completely different leagues. Although, when Dean opened the trunk to his car to put their weapons away she was almost impressed when she saw the arsenal they were carrying. With emphasis on almost.
To the naked eye, her small but cosy apartment looked normal. She decorated it herself. There were photos on the wall, from her previous life back home in Finland. Graduation, old friends and family. She loved doing photography, so she had also framed some of her more artsy photography. There was a small TV she rarely watched, a computer and a bookshelf. Her old guitar, which she used when writing songs, was leaning against the wall in a corner. Papers, notes and books were scattered across her desk. It was the apartment of the average college student.
However, the box under her bed was anything but normal. It was filled with old books about demons and other forms of evil, spellbooks and weapons of all kinds. Maybe she could show them to Sam and his friend. She realized no person in her American life had ever been through these doors, except for her Watcher. And she had just let two hunters she didn't even know through the doors.
"Go ahead, sit down", she said and pointed towards the beige couch. Sam and his friend sat down, and she sat down on a chair across from them. Then there was silence.
"So, maybe someone should speak", Sam said. It looked like he was trying to find some words.
Rika looked at them, not knowing how to begin. Just like Sam apparently.
"Okay, I'll go first", the other guy said. "What the Hell are you?"
"Cancer on the cusp of Leo", she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You?"
"I'm sorry", Sam said quickly. "Dean tends to be a bit direct."
"No shit, Sherlock", she replied and looked down, pondering on how she should begin. She hesitated before looking up at them and opening her mouth.
"I'm the Slayer."
"What?!", the guys said in chorus and looked more confused than ever.
"Slayer. Comma. The", she tried. "She who hangs out in the cemeteries a lot? The Chosen One? Prophecy chick?"
They still looked confused, and quite frankly, she was surprised. She would have thought two professional hunters like themselves would have at least heard of the Slayer myth. But apparently not. "You two really don't have the faintest idea who I am, do you?", she said feeling slightly amused looking at their confused faces. "And you call yourselves hunters."
