Headhunters
zTiamaTz
A/N: This chapter is set up to move the story along. The normal POV's will continue in the next chapter.
A/N 2: All journal entries, and subsequent dialog will be Cordelia POV.
=H=H=
CAN'T TOUCH ME
=H=H=
~~Cordelia's Journal - Day 20~~
It's been four days since I kissed Xander. We've decided to take things slow, and he doesn't mind a bit. I'm not sure if I should be amazed with him, or sickened by my previous choices in boyfriends. I think I'll stick with the former, it's better for my sanity.
My face is starting to heal up nicely. The cut is barely visible, and the bruise has turned that nasty yellow color. Xander said that just means it's going to be gone soon. The lip will still take some time, but I can deal with that. Best of all, I can sit down again!
I know I should be happy about it, but Xander is just as good with the sniper rifle as I am. Honestly, it's a good thing that he can shoot with it, I guess I just wanted to be better at something then him. Does that make me selfish, or just human?
While we were out in the city today, we heard gunfire in the distance, we couldn't tell where it came from though. I told Xander it was probably more of the Gears from Bravo Company, but he wasn't so sure. He wondered why we hadn't heard anything sooner.
Xander's got a point, wouldn't they be happy to have some company?
~C~C~
"There's no way you can make that shot Xander." I said, as I watched the target through the binoculars.
He snickered. "How much you wanna bet Cor?"
This was going to be fun. "If you make it, I'll let you get to second base tonight."
Xander pulled his eye from the scope and looked at me. "I thought we were already at second base?"
"Hey, you're the one that's sure you can pull it off." I told him, not bothering to look back at him.
"Fine," He said with a sigh. "What do I get if I make it?"
I grabbed his wrist and placed his right hand on my breast, before quickly pulling it away. "You get more time with these."
"I'll make it." He said in a confident voice.
Giggling, I watched as he lined up the shot. "Don't miss." I taunted.
Through the binoculars, I saw the two Drones continuing their walk down the street toward our location. These idiots fell for the fire trick every time.
"There's no way I'm gonna miss this Cor."
"Wait, what the hell is that thing doing?"
One of the Drone's had broken off, and stood facing a wall. The other stayed in the street, seemingly bored.
"He's taking a piss." Xander replied with a laugh.
I didn't want to look, but I couldn't help it. Luckily I couldn't see his 'thing'. But his pee was purple, which was just weird. "Ew."
"My thoughts exactly Cor. How about I take the one waiting?"
"Just shoot one of them already." I replied impatiently.
A few seconds later, the waiting Locust's chest exploded as a bullet entered his body just below the neck. I watched as his head flew straight back as his body fell backward.
"Yes!" Xander cheered.
I knew he wasn't cheering about the shot, but what he'd be getting to do tonight.
The Drone who had gone to the bathroom turned around, and looked at his now headless friend. He looked back and forth stupidly, not even realizing what had happened.
Xander tried to hide his excitement, but was failing miserably.
I smiled, knowing I won anyway.
~C~C~
~~Cordelia's Journal - Day 22~~
Xander came up with a great idea for the Crusher's shield. He cut a slot in the floor in front of the front door, and stuck the shield in there. Now the door won't budge if it's in place. Short of a Boomer shot, that door isn't going anywhere. Now all we need is one for the back door!
He's really good at building things, I wish I knew how to do stuff like that. Maybe he'll teach me some of it if I ask him?
We ran into a small patrol and caught them in a crossfire that cut them to pieces. Xander finished one off with his chainsaw gun. I'm going to have to ask him if I can use it one of these times.
We've been hearing gunfire more and more often, but we can never tell exactly where it's coming from. Who's out there?
~C~C~
"What the hell are you doing?" I screamed, as I watched Xander doing something that involved a hole in our floor.
"I told you a few days ago, I had a project in mind." He replied, as if that answered all the questions I might have.
"What is it? How to set a broken leg when I accidentally put my foot in there?"
He grinned up at me. "You don't trust me?"
"Oh I trust that you can do a lot of things well, but cutting holes in the floor isn't one of them."
He stood up and walked across the room. He grabbed the edge of the Crusher shield, and looked over to me. "Wanna give me a hand."
With a grunt, I had the other end of the shield, and we carried it back to the front door. "This had better be good dork."
"Hold it up while I throw the switch."
I struggled to keep it up off the floor, careful not to be in the way when it expanded. The sides of the shield came out, and we eased it down into the slot.
I tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge an inch. Kneeling down, I saw that the angled edge of the shield fit perfectly in the hole he had made.
As I stood up, I saw Xander standing there, arms crossed.
"So," He smiled. "Is it up to the Queen C standard?"
I threw my arms around him and gave him a big kiss. I pulled back and looked up at him. "It's beautiful."
~C~C~
~~Cordelia's Journal - Day 24~~
Xander finally figured out how to use those grenades today, they're fantastic! We can stick them into walls and stuff, and just lure the Locust into killing themselves. I told him we should stick them on bodies after we take the heads. He gave me that little grin he gets when a particularly vicious way of dealing with the Locust comes up. It's becoming contagious.
We found something weird today though. We passed through the neighborhood where we'd placed four heads along the top of a wall. We saw that someone, or something had painted a large blue, stylized 'M' directly on top of our mark. Everything else was where we left it.
I suggested that maybe someone was trying to contact us. Xander was angry about it though, taking it as a slight. He said whoever had done it was trying to lay claim to our kills.
I think he's blowing it out of proportion. I really like Xander, but sometimes he goes all macho like every other guy I've dated. God, that is so annoying.
~C~C~
Xander stopped dead in his tracks. "What the hell is that?"
"What?" I started to look around, thinking we were about to be attacked.
"Look." He said, pointing at where we had placed a group of Locust heads a few days earlier.
I saw that our red 'C-H' mark had been sprayed over with a blue 'M'.
"Do you think it's from more Gears?" I asked hopefully.
"If it is, I don't like them already." Xander said sourly.
"What?" I asked, confused. "Why?"
"Our mark was there to show we were the ones that put the Locust heads there. Putting that 'M' over top of it means they're claiming it as theirs."
"Maybe they're just trying to contact us?"
"No Cor, it means they're trying to take over." He replied darkly.
As he walked toward it to get a better look, all I could do was shake my head, men.
~C~C~
~~Cordelia's Journal - Day 26~~
Yesterday, we got into another big shootout with the Locust. We killed all four of them, including another Boomer! I blew his leg clean off at the knee with one shot!
Before the fight we'd found three more of our marks covered. We decided to stake out our newest one this time, to see if we could catch the person in the act. After waiting six hours, we gave up and went home though.
The first time, they were trying to get our attention, I can understand that. Four times? Whoever they are, they're asking for trouble now.
~C~C~
"You're turn Cor." Xander said as he came back down from the window, binoculars in hand.
I groaned as I placed the knife down on the dresser. My 'AH + CC' atop it, was still unfinished. I hadn't even had a chance to carve the heart around it yet.
"Whoever is doing this, they're really starting to piss me off." I told him as I took the binoculars from him.
We'd killed the Locust four hours ago, and were trying to find out who was marking our stuff over. We were doing half-hour watch shifts now, trying to catch whoever was doing it.
"Think of it this way," Xander said as he ran a hand over my carving. "You're having a much better day then that Boomer, right?"
"Yeah." I had to admit seeing that Boomer fall over after his leg separated at the knee was funny. He just toppled over sideways, like a falling tree.
After taking up my position at the window and sat. Within ten minutes though, I was bored. "You think we'll actually catch them dork-head?"
"They better hope not."
I was starting to agree.
~C~C~
~~Cordelia's Journal - Day 27~~
Today, we went back and there was an 'M', over the mark we had guarded for hours yesterday. Xander is getting really pissed off now, he said he felt like someone was watching us the whole time, while we were out today.
Xander found a map of the city in a city building, and he's been marking down the areas where stuff like where our fights happened and which ones 'M', has been at.
He's hoping to find some kind of pattern. Who knows, maybe he will.
I'm starting to wonder if it really is someone from Bravo Company. But if it is, why would they play games like this?
~C~C~
"Find anything Cordy?" Xander called out to me from across the hall.
"I'm pretty sure it's a municipal building of some kind." I told him as I ransacked the third cookie-cutter office in a row.
"Got a locked door here."
I made my way out of the office and heard a smack, followed by a small thud. I found Xander in the hallway by a door, he was reaching through a now windowless, door and unlocking it.
As I followed him inside, I took a look at a frosted, plastic window lying on the floor. It had a faded name painted on it.
[Arthur G. Davidson - City Planner]
"This could be promising." I told him, as I made my way around the room.
"Could be." Xander started pulling open some long, thin drawers and going through them.
I stopped at the desk, and noticed a framed picture sitting there. I heard something fall as I picked it up, but ignored it for the moment. There was an older couple, with a handsome, young guy in a dress uniform.
There was obvious pride in the mans face as he stood next to him in the photo. The woman looked up at the soldier with an adoring smile, her arm around him. I wondered how long ago it was taken, was it before the Locust came?
"Bingo." Xander said, breaking the silence, and causing me to jump.
"What did you find?" I asked as I regained my composure.
"Only maps of the entire city and all the streets in it." He said proudly.
I smiled at this. Now that he was away from that asshole of a father, and the ignorant Sunnydale teachers, he was finally coming into his own.
"Good job, are we ready to move on to the next?"
Xander rolled the maps up, and stuck them in a tube he found in a cabinet. "Yeah Cor, let's go." He said, slinging the tube over his shoulder, before heading out the door.
I placed the photograph back on the desk and saw what had fallen. It was a COG tag. I picked it up and read the info around the circle.
[Pvt. George T. Davidson - B]
[Coalition of Ordered Governments]
I sighed, as I gently placed the tag back on the corner of the frame. There was only one reason it would be here.
~C~C~
~~Cordelia's Journal - Day 29~~
Xander got shot today, grazed across his left forearm. He said he'd be fine, but that he'd probably end up with a scar. I told him I was sorry, and he simply replied 'Better me then you'. I thought it was sweet.
We had been setting up another ambush when the Locust came out of nowhere. From where I was sitting, there was just one blind spot. Another few minutes and Xander would have been out of there.
Xander freaked out, and is convinced that 'M' lured the Locust in that direction. When I asked him why, he said it was because 'M' knew we wouldn't see them coming.
We rushed straight home, and he practically shoved through the door. He's really paranoid all of a sudden, and I'm starting to worry.
~C~C~
"I'm gonna make sure we didn't miss anything." Xander told me, as he got up from stuffing, or tying all the guns and ammo into our packs.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked, eying the hastily made, t-shirt bandage tied around his arm.
"It's just a scratch." He replied with a smile.
That was Xander. He gets shot, but he's the one doing the reassuring.
"Okay, just make it quick so we can get out of here."
He gave a small nod, and I went back to lining up the Locust heads. Sometimes, it still surprised me how easy it had become for me to do something so nasty.
I had just finished up and was wiping the gloves off in the snow when Xander came back. He was obviously upset over something.
"We gotta go, now." He told me as he dragged me to my feet.
"Xander we've got to-"
"No time." He grabbed one of the packs, and slung it on, before holding the other up for me to put my arms through.
I stood there, my arms crossed. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is going on."
He opened his mouth several times to speak. It was almost like he wanted to say something, but didn't know how.
"Just spit it out already!"
Xander seemed to compose himself. "There's a big Locust patrol coming this way, I don't want them to be able to track us.
"Fine." I told him as I stuck my arms through the straps. "Next time, just tell me."
~C~C~
~~Cordelia's Journal - Day 30~~
We decided to take a day off today. I went to take a nap, and when I woke up I couldn't find Xander anywhere. I tore the house apart looking for him before I realized he was gone.
Four hours later, he came home dragging a door behind him with that lamp I liked so much on it. I asked him why he would risk his life for something that wouldn't even work. He just stood there and told me it was because he knew I liked it.
I've gotten some strange presents over the years, from candy underwear, to front row tickets to see some guy named William Shatter at a Star Wars convention. But a lamp he could have died for?
I think he might have been hunting 'M', and needed an excuse for why he had gone off alone. He doesn't really explain things anymore, and it drives me crazy. We finally found each other, and we're already drifting apart.
Since when did I become too chicken to confront someone?
~C~C~
"You don't like it now?"
"I love the lamp, but that's not the point!" I yelled, I couldn't understand how could he have been so dumb?
"Cordy, you're my girlfriend. I wanted to get you something nice."
"No," I glared at him. "No, you are not going to use that as an excuse every time you go and do something stupid."
"I really don't see what the big deal is."
"Well, for starters... You were shot yesterday!"
He held up his arm to show the bandage over the wound. "It's just skin Cor."
"We're in a city full of things that want to kill us and you're dragging a lamp that's almost as big as I am through the freaking streets!"
Xander shook his head, it was obvious he wanted no part of this.
Seeing this, I just had to ask. "Which part of what I've said do you disagree with?"
He just stood there, like it wasn't even worth answering.
~C~C~
~~Cordelia's Journal - Day 31~~
Xander was constantly looking over his shoulder today. Nothing I've said has calmed him down at all. He is completely convinced 'M' is out to get us, and he's becoming too rash and aggressive.
I'm not sure Xander even sleeps anymore. He doesn't go to bed with me, and he's awake when I get up. I've looked at his map while he's outside on the latrine, I can understand some of it, but not much.
He knows, or thinks he knows something about what's going on, but he won't clue me in. It's starting to scare me.
~C~C~
Xander stopped, and turned back the way we had come, scanning the streets with his saw gun. Seeing this, I did the same.
"What is it?" I whispered, looking down the street for whatever had spooked him.
"Someone's following us." He replied with a scratchy voice.
I glanced over at him, as he continued his search. He looked haggard, which was no surprise. He was spending most nights looking over that stupid map.
I thought of pulling my sniper rifle out for a better look, but decided not to. If anyone was there, they'd see what I was doing, and take cover anyway.
"What do you want to do Xander?"
He took several more minutes, staring down the empty street. Finally, he lowered the gun. "Let's just get going Cor." He said tiredly, before continuing down the street once again.
I followed after him, wondering what I could do to make things the way they were before.
~C~C~
~~Cordelia's Journal - Day 33~~
We found the mother-lode! Xander and I were searching a house today, and I found a trapdoor in the floor of a back room. Xander went down there with a torch, and found a whole bunch of food and other supplies.
He seemed relaxed for a bit, which made me even happier then finding the food. It didn't last long though, Xander started talking about laying booby traps. I finally convinced him to just grab what we could and get the rest tomorrow.
On the way home, we heard gunfire not too far from where we were. We ran toward it, and found the aftermath four blocks from us. Seven Hoppers shot to pieces. An 'M' painted on the side of a car nearby.
There were boot prints all over the place, I couldn't tell if there was more then one of them or not. Xander wanted to track them, but I talked him down.
I got him to settle for spraying over the 'M' with our mark. It was pure spite, but it got the job done for now. I just don't know how much longer I can stop him from doing something really stupid.
Xander is obsessed, and I don't see the sweet guy I fell for anymore...
~C~C~
We were walking down the street with both of our packs full of food and water. There was enough there to easily last a week, what we had left behind would keep us full until the Gears finally arrived.
Suddenly, the sounds of gunfire started somewhere to our right. Before I could react, I was on the ground in the snow. Looking up, I saw Xander on top of me.
After a short break, the shots continued for another fifteen seconds, and then just stopped. Almost immediately, Xander was back on his feet and offering me a hand.
"Come on." He told me before heading in the direction we had heard them.
I didn't think it was such a good idea to go running off toward shooting, but I wasn't going to let him go alone either.
After four blocks, we arrived to a scene of carnage. Bodies were everywhere.
"How many do you think there were?"
"Seven." Xander replied, he was on one knee inspecting the corpses with his knife.
"People?" I asked incredulously, I couldn't imagine us not seeing someone if there were that many running around.
He looked back at me like I'd grown a second head. "No, Skippers." Xander replied, poking one in the head for emphasis. "A single person did this."
"Oh come on dweeb, one person couldn't kill all of these things that fast."
"Didn't you hear the breaks in the shooting Cor?" He asked as he stood up and brushed off his pants.
I thought about it, there had definitely been a stop and start. "Yeah, and?"
"However many people you want to think were here, did they all stop to reload at the exact same time?"
Looking around at the mess, I still found it hard to believe, but Xander did have a point.
~C~C~
~~Cordelia's Journal - Day 34~~
[WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP ME?]
^- That's what we found when we went to get the rest of the supplies today. It was the same color blue that 'M' used.
When we got to the house, everything looked the same as we had left it. As we reached the room through the trapdoor, we found the place had been completely emptied, I wanted to cry.
Xander just stood there, I couldn't tell what he was thinking. I told him we should just go, and climbed the wooden ladder back up. As I did, I saw the message on the ceiling.
Xander simply looked up at it, and walked out the door. Eventually, we ended up on the street where Corporal Murphy was buried, her grave was empty.
[I'M WATCHING YOU.]
^- We found this spray painted on the house we had stored her body in.
There were so many tracks around there from when we buried her, and the Locust patrols in the streets, We couldn't track anything.
What kind of weirdo digs up a dead body? Aren't the Locust bad enough?
~C~C~
"Xander, what the hell is going on?" I recognized the neighborhood we were in, and wondered why we were here.
When we got to the grave, I saw that Murphy's body was gone. A large pile of dirt and snow sat to the side.
Seeing the message on the wall and the empty grave scared me. "Why are they doing this to us?"
"Somebody's pissed off she's dead." Xander said, as he stared down at the empty grave.
I couldn't help but shiver at the message left on the house. Between this, losing all those supplies, and our fading relationship, I didn't know how things could get much worse.
~C~C~
~~Cordelia's Journal - Day 36~~
[YOU LEFT ME TO DIE.]
^- We found this message on a wall at the end of the street we live on. It was right around the corner from where the Gears died, this is starting to really freak me out.
Xander is convinced 'M' is Miranda. He hasn't said it, but it's obvious to me now. I know it isn't possible because there was no doubt she was dead. Even if we were somehow mistaken when we found her on that street, she had days to get up before we buried her.
I tried to convince him that it was just some sick creep messing with us, but he just won't listen. I know the fact that she looked like Willow bothers him, even if he won't admit it. Guilt can do crazy things to people.
~C~C~
"Xander?" I asked as I stood in the doorway of the spare bedroom.
"Yeah Cor." He asked, not bothering to look up from the map he was studying.
"Why don't you take a break? We can sit down, have lunch. Talk."
"Not hungry, besides, I need to figure this out." He replied tiredly.
"You've been staring at that thing for over a week!"
He swung around as soon as the words left my mouth. "Do you have a better idea?" Anger radiated from him.
"Let's see," I screamed as I got in his face. "Maybe we could go out and try to hunt this guy down?"
"Where?" He threw his arms up in emphasis.
"Outside, he's got to be out there somewhere, we just need to find him!"
"Show me on the map where he is and we'll go there right now."
"I don't know." I replied quietly.
~C~C~
~~Cordelia's Journal - Day 38~~
This is getting crazy, we just got back from another hunt for 'M' and found whoever they are had written us another message.
[WHY US?]
^- This is what the sick fuck wrote on a piece of wood, and left across the Gear's graves.
Unlike Xander, until I actually see Miranda walking around, I'm not accusing that poor woman of anything.
Whoever 'M' is, I hate them. Human or not, if I get my hands on them, their head is going to be sitting on the front lawn of 'this' house.
~C~C~
We trudged down our street to the house, I was eager to take a load off. After our argument two days ago, I'd gotten Xander to agree to track this bastard down without a map. So far, we'd come up with zilch.
"Oh my God." I stopped dead in my tracks.
Xander stopped next to me. "What?"
Across the three Gears' graves was a long board, with 'WHY US?' painted on it, in that same blue color.
At that point, I lost it. This person had been doing this to us for four days now and I'd finally had enough. "Hey! Whoever the coward is that's been leaving these messages! We're standing right here!"
Xander grabbed my arm then, trying to get me to calm down. I wasn't having any of it though, I yanked free.
"You sick freak! When I get my hands on you, you're fucking dead!" I screamed as Xander dragged me away.
~C~C~
End Journal entries.
=H=H=
~~Cordelia POV~~
I woke up alone in bed, again. I turned to Xander's side, and it didn't even look like he'd slept in it last night. We'd been here for thirty nine days and now he was breaking down.
Starting to feel defeated, I considered just staying in bed for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, my bladder strongly disagreed. Traitor.
As I got up to leave, my thoughts returned to Xander. He could still be sweet when he came out of that shell he had made, it just killed me to see him become so distant. I didn't understand what was going on in his head anymore.
After giving a quick look to see if Xander was in one of the other bedrooms, I made my way downstairs. I found him in our 'armory', big surprise. Since the whole 'M' thing started, all he did was do stuff with the guns or brood over that map in the spare bedroom.
I stood in the doorway, watching him. He was sitting on a stool with his back to me, and it looked like he was wiping down my machine gun with a rag.
"Xander."
"Yeah?" He asked simply, he sounded like crap and looked even worse.
"Do you want me to get you something?" I asked as I entered the room, and put my arm around his shoulders. "I can't remember the last time I've seen you eat."
He turned to me, and I gave him a smile.
"I'm fine Cor, thanks anyway." He gave me a kiss on the cheek before turning back to the gun.
I pulled away from him like I'd been burned, I couldn't believe he'd just blown me off like that and realized something just then. I had tried to be sweet, patient, and understanding. Doing so, I had failed miserably.
Chase's never take failure very well. I snatched my gun from his hands, and yanked the stool out from under him.
Xander landed on his back, and glared up at me. "What the fuck Cordelia?" He screamed, as he started to get back up.
I tossed my gun on the table, and put my foot down on his chest, and I used my leverage to shove him back to the ground. "We're going to have a little chat, now." I kept my foot there as I leaned down to face him.
"I don't have time-"
"Make time." I growled at him. "In case you forgot, I'm supposed to be your girlfriend. There's this little thing called sharing." I batted his hand away when he tried to remove my foot. "Couples do stuff like that."
"You don't get it."
"Then enlighten me, because I am getting sick of you either ignoring me, or giving me this cryptic bullshit."
"She's trying to destroy everything Cor."
"Who, Miranda?"
He looked at me in shock. I wasn't sure why he thought I wasn't smart enough to figure out his crazy idea, but I was definitely annoyed now.
"You moron, this isn't Sunnydale!" I hadn't planned on screaming at him, but I'd had enough. "That woman did not come back from the dead to kill you!"
He suddenly became very serious. "Not me."
"What are you talking about?"
"There was another message."
I took a step back, I didn't like the sound of this. Xander used the opportunity to warily get back to his feet.
"What message?" I whispered.
=H=H=
Xander ran his hand up his forehead and through his hair, obviously agitated.
"At the place we got ambushed, and I got shot, she left a message on the wall about you."
I felt a chill run up my spine. Getting shot and killed by the Locust was one thing, but this scared the shit out of me.
"What-what did it say?" I asked, my voice suddenly trembling.
"It said 'THE BITCH IS MINE.'. It was right in the spot that the Locust came through, and the paint was still wet when I found it."
"Well, it was cold, right? Maybe it didn't dry because of the weather"
"It was fresh enough Cordy. That last skipper I killed, it's blood was under the paint. She was there while we were stripping the bodies." He said grimly.
My head was spinning. "What the hell does this person want Xander?"
"That's what I've been trying to figure out for the past three weeks Cor."
It suddenly hit me all at once, his actions, the attitude. He had been driving himself crazy trying to keep me safe. The old me would have taken that, and milked it for all it was worth. I was the queen of 'poor me'. Now, I was just pissed off.
"Damn you Xander!" I said getting in his face. "I'm not some fucking damsel in distress anymore!" I jammed my finger into his chest with every word.
He started to open his mouth, but I cut him off.
"Do you know how scared I was about the way you were acting? I thought you were going crazy!"
"I just didn't want to scare you Cor." He said flatly.
I glared at him. "I'm a big girl doofus. If I can take down a Boomer, I can handle a psycho. Or do you want me to just sit at home while you go running off around the city by yourself?"
"That's not what I want, I like knowing you have my back."
"Then I need you to tell me what's going on, not fall on your sword every time something bad happens."
He looked down at the floor. "You were finally doing good Cordy. You were confident, great in a fight," He blew out a loud breath. "I just didn't want you to be afraid again."
"Xander, how could I not be afraid, when you're running around the city alone, acting like a lunatic?"
"I'm just proud of everything you've done since we got here. I didn't want her to ruin it."
"You know what, I am sick of arguing with you about this, go upstairs and get dressed. We are going to where that message was painted, then we are going to track down the living person who wrote it, and kick their ass."
He stood there, probably trying to decide if he should continue the argument.
I decided to make the decision for him. "Shoo." I smacked him on the ass.
"Ow." He whined and headed for the stairs. The sound of my laughter followed him the whole way.
Suddenly, the urge to pee came back in force. I quickly yanked on my boots and headed out the back door. I didn't really notice the cold so much now, I was hopeful that Xander and I had finally turned a corner in our relationship.
I sat down to do my business when I saw a blue 'M' on the inside of the sheet. I was about to scream when a hand clamped over my mouth, and an arm wrapped around my neck. After a few seconds, everything went black.
=H=H=
++Xander POV++
"Hey Cor! Do we have any more clean pairs of those double-thick socks?"
When I didn't get a reply, I figured she was still kinda mad at me, or she was hiding what pairs were left. I couldn't honestly blame Cordy for either reason. Sighing in resignation, I put on some regular socks and my boots.
I got downstairs, and realized she wasn't there, which sucked. I felt much better then I had in weeks, and I was glad I was wrong about Cordelia's reaction. As I got into the hallway, I noticed her boots weren't there, and figured she had gone out to the shitter.
I started getting the weapons that we'd be taking out together. I had to wait though, since I wasn't sure if Cordelia would take her assault rifle or a shotgun. She seemed to really like the kind of damage it could do.
When I had finished getting my stuff together, I realized she still wasn't back. Tired of waiting I stuck my head out the back door and called out to her.
After several tries, I realized something was wrong. Even if she was mad at me, she sure as hell wouldn't put up with me yelling at her, while she was in there.
I walked up to the sheet, and tried one more time. Getting no response, I pulled back the curtain, and found Miranda sitting there, pointing a gun at me.
=H=H=
END