1Sweat.
That was all Xander could remember about his first day at the warehouse.
Sweat and dust. That and that the guy he had been working with was sniffing everything.
Xander even caught him sniffing him as well. It was just plain creepy. With a capital creep!
Still, the money was good, and he could put up with an oddball every now and then. Mr. Sniffy only worked nights, so Xander only saw him a few hours a day, and most of the time he was off in the better parts of the warehouse.
So each day for Xander started early. He would leave for school, then after school, he would go to work. On his lunch break, he would do what homework he could, then go back to sweating in the dusty back rooms. And not just the back rooms of the main warehouse.
The Company had one big place and lots of little ones. His dad worked at the main warehouse, while Xander was a floater – he moved from one to the next, but he always got the back rooms. The rooms that no one else wanted to work in.
Things happened back in those areas. People would punch at the time clock and go to work in the back of the warehouse, and never come out. Shadows would move on their own. And the boxes and crates were strange. Some would smell sweet while others were pungent, and others like rotten meat, or hot metal. And every now and then, he would swear that something would move in them. But still, it was good money and it was just one small step away from his dad.
It had been three weeks and still no Faith.
He had heard from this person or that, that she was around, but he never saw her. One time, he had just missed her by seconds. She had ducked out of a store as he was going in.
It hurt, and then it pissed him off. Faith. His Faith was running from him. That was the only explanation and it was one that he didn't understand.
Sure, the fight at the bar had been his fault, and she had been locked up. At least, she was driven down to the station. But after that – nothing. What could he have done to make her leave him like she had done?
So now he was alone.
He stopped caring about Faith. Anyone that could just drop a friend like that wasn't a friend. So, if she wanted to leave him, so be it. But it still hurt him. Whether he wanted to admit it or not.
All he knew that his life sucked at the moment, and it all started with that night. And that caused him to get angry. No, it was almost a rage. The rage built in him more and more, with each new change in his life.
And Faith was just the start in a long list
Kicked off the team, girlfriend dumped him, then she shows up at school in Troy's car. After which, school went downhill. The teachers, who as long as he was on the team, cut him some breaks with the course work, suddenly wanted him to work for his grades, on top of extra work to make up what he had missed over the year.
As for friends, he still had the twins, and a few others at school. But most had disappeared with one look from Troy. Others at the school were like Max the lineman. It was getting too close to getting out of school and moving on to colleges, or into the work force. And the drama of what Troy was doing was just not worth their time.
Then there was Xander's new home life. His dad told him if he couldn't hang on the team, he had to get a job so he could help out around the apartment. His dad got him a job working at the warehouse with him. And half of Xander's pay check went to his dad. What he did with it Xander didn't know.
The last few weeks had been hard on Faith.
Linda was nice. And she took care of her. She bought her things she needed. Always had plenty of food. And there were no guys coming and going. It had gotten to where Faith didn't even lock her bedroom door anymore.
But something was missing. She didn't know what. She should have been happy, but there was a sadness that only went away when she hit the old neighborhood.
She had watched Xander from a distance. Her new life would just get him hurt, so she had just watched him, never talked to him, knowing that if she had came in contact with him she would tell him everything.
And Linda had told her Slayers were meant to be alone. So, if she was to be one, she needed to act alone.
But still she missed him.
She ached just to walk up and talk to him. To find out what was going on in his life. He looked so hurt lately. Alone. She never saw him with the team anymore. Or the Bitch, Karen. He wasn't even hanging out with the twins as much anymore. The twins had started to act funny as well, coming and going at all hours.
As she had watched Xander on his daily routine. He would go to school every day. She had tried to follow him after school, but he never seemed to leave the same way. He'd catch a bus, and head off downtown. Then some days, he would head to the docks. And one time, a truck had picked him up. The name W&H warehouses was painted on the sides. After a few blocks, it just disappeared, not that a girl running after a truck would keep up with it.
Faith drew herself up and prepared for a bath, as she heard Linda on the phone talking to someone. Some guy named Giles. Faith smirked and looked out at her watcher on the phone. So Little Miss Tight-knees did have a man.
It had been a running joke between them that Linda hadn't had a date since high school, and Faith always seemed to have guys around her. And truth be told, it was almost true. Linda didn't go out, since her calling took up to much of her time. Preparing Faith was her upmost duty. And Faith did hit the clubs, and did things that neither wanted to talk about. Not to say that she was a slut or anything, but finding out you had a shelf life did make you want to make the most of what you had.
But the person she most want to spend time with was lost to her, and would stay lost to keep him safe.
All in all, both had very empty lives.
After Faith's bath, she lay back in her sleep wear, a band shirt she'd picked up after a concert. Dingo's Ate My Baby – the band name was strange enough to fit in her new life. The band had already left before she had gotten there and the shirts were cheap, so she got one, just for the hell of it. It was warm and since Linda didn't like Faith sleeping in the nude, it would work.
That night, the dreams started again. This time they were clearer.
Still not a whole lot of sense but she could make them out now.
Dream
It was Xander.
He stood in front of her and three others stood around him.
She couldn't see them clearly 'cause they seemed to flow. The far one's skin was moving and broken in places as bugs crawled under and on his skin. The next one was a tall man in black, his face almost skeletal. The one on the left of Xander was gaunt, his clothes were worn and dirty, and he looked like he hadn't eaten in a while.
Then she looked back to Xander.
It was Xander, but someone else was looking out of his eyes. They were bloodshot, with a cruel sneer on his face. He shook himself and his clothes fell away. Under them was armor. The metal was rough and had an unfinished look about it. Dry blood streaked the metal, and in his hand was a sword. Fresh blood flowed down it, to pool at the ground at his armored feet.
"Reap the whirlwind," Xander said.
Then he was on a horse, with the others beside him, and they turned and charged off across a grassy plain.
Where the riders touched, things changed.
Where the gaunt man's horse touched the grass, it withered.
Where the bug man's horse touched, insects sprang up and began to eat the grass.
The dark man's horse touched the grass and it faded and died.
And where Xander's horse touch the ground, it became torn and bloody.
The voice, the one that had been fuzzy and muffled, was loud and clear now – a woman's voice.
"You have been chosen."
Dream End
Across the country.
A blonde girl sat up in a pool of water, gasping for breath. She looks from her friend kneeling over her to her love standing behind him.
Something was wrong. This wasn't right.
But she knew what to do. What she always did: kill a vampire.
She just hoped it was soon enough.
End part 7