Infirmary, Sunnydale High School, 1130 hours.
Sarah had to see three more students, two of whom got into a fight with each other and were bloodied and bruised, while the other had the stomach flu. After they left the infirmary, the two bandaged fighters returning to class while the one with the stomach flu was given a pass and told to report to the administration office so that he could be sent home.
Once they were gone, Sarah sighed and went back to her seat. She sat down, looked up at the double doors that led to the hallway outside upon hearing the sound of students. She looked up and saw several students walk by through the two reinforced glass windows set in the doors.
When they didn't walk in, 'they're heading for their next class', Sarah thought to herself as she looked down the left side of her desk at the column of three drawers. She reached for the top one, which was her own drawer while the others were for the doctor who came in three times a week, and the lowest one was for a part-time nurse who came in after lunch.
Sarah unlocked the top drawer, pulled it open, and then and then… when no one walked into the infirmary, she took out the piece of paper that Giles handed her earlier. 'This was on the palms of both children' Sarah thought to herself as she leaned back in her seat and stared at the drawn symbol. She frowned while trying to rack her brain for any information, she even sifted through her memories of training with her own mother for the symbol.
But there was nothing. She hadn't encountered it before.
'I already described the symbol in detail to Miss Harkness,' Sarah thought as she put the paper back in the drawer, and then locked it before looking up at the clock, 'and she said she would get back to me as soon as they find something.' The woman then got up from her seat and walked around the desk. She headed for the left wall where there was a clipboard hanging, along with another shelf below it which contained copies of inventory forms. She took a form, attached it to a clipboard, and then started taking inventory of the medications in the infirmary to pass the time until she could head up to the library and talk to Giles about the symbol. Sarah wondered if he found anything about it in his books as she crouched down and opened a door to a cabinet.
Sarah inventoried the medications in the cabinet before getting back up and moving on to another cabinet. Over the next hour, all Sarah could do was inventory medications and supplies in the infirmary. When she was finished, she placed the clipboard back on the wall and the inventory for in a holder that she would later take to the administration office.
Looking back at the clock, Sarah realised she had ten minutes left before lunch. She sighed and then walked back to her deck and, with one hand in the pocket of her white coat, she grabbed the newspaper and stared at the pictures of the two dead children.
"Such a tragedy," she whispered before her mind travelled back to the symbol and thought to herself, 'that symbol looked like something from an occult book. And that's exactly it.. it looks like; something from the occult. It could also be someone who killed these two kids and dumped their bodies in the playground. Anyone who knows about Sunnydale would know there's something strange about this city. He or She could have murdered them, and then drawn that symbol to put focus away from himself.'
It was then that Sarah looked up from the newspaper, placed it on the table, and spun around on her heels. She felt the same disturbing and evil presence from earlier that day.
"Who's there?" Sarah asked at the open air in the infirmary. But there was no response. Sarah wondered if being in an empty room, in a school located directed over the Hellmouth, was driving her imagination wild.
But the goosebumps on her arms were telling her something different. This wasn't her imagination gone wild. There really was something she could sense; a malevolent presence in the infirmary. Sarah was taking deep breaths, trying to keep herself calm and collected as she asked once again, "who's there? Can I help you?"
'Yes, Sarah,' thought Sarah sarcastically to herself, 'let's ask the possibly evil presence in the infirmary if you could help it.'
She took a step back, she was now leaning on the desk and her hand reached out for the newspaper. As she did, Sarah felt the presence grow in malevolence. Sarah grabbed the newspaper and then rushed out. Her body felt ice-cold as she ran through a massive cold spot and kept on running towards the door. She felt as if something evil was staring her down; a feeling that lifted when she rushed out into the hallway and closed the infirmary doors behind her. She then closed her eyes and leaned with her back to the doors.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself as her heart raced, Sarah suddenly felt as if she was being watched again from behind. She slowly turned around, her heart beating faster still, and her eyes widened when she looked through the reinforced glass into the infirmary.
There were two children, a boy and girl, looking back at her.
They looked just like the pictures of the dead children in the paper. The girl had wavy blond hair falling down both sides of her face. She had on a brown and white striped shirt underneath some overalls. And the boy had blond hair, and he was wearing a brownish shirt with a single white horizontal stripe around the waist. They were staring back at her with sad faces, however, Sarah could sense evil pouring out of them.
Then, just as they appeared, they vanished. Not willing to get back into the infirmary now, Sarah decided to clear her head and flipped the tag on the door that indicated she was on a break. She needed to go outside to get some air, and then head back to the library to talk to Giles about what she saw in the infirmary. With the newspaper clutched in her fist, her knuckles became white, Sarah strode down the hallway and took a nearby exit out to the grounds of the school.
It was a bright and sunny day as Sarah walked past some students in her white coat and took a seat on a stone bench. She let the warmth from the sun permeate her as she closed her eyes and lowered her head worried about what was going on in the school. She wondered if the children were approaching her because she used to practice magic before swearing not to after changing the minds of everyone who knew her and Tara's true identities.
'No, that can't be it,' Sarah though as she looked back up at the trees that surrounded her… with the parking lot and front lawn meters away. She took a deep breath while thinking, 'I sensed evil coming off them. No, there's got to be more that what I think may be going on.' Sarah then bit her lower lip, a bad habit she developed when she thought too deeply about something potentially horrible, and wondered if the children she saw were ghosts of those who were murdered, 'maybe they want vengeance? Maybe that's the evil I sensed? An intention to drop vengeance on the ones who killed them?'
Sarah stopped biting her bottom lip and frowned, 'maybe that's one thing. What else could there be? But still… the evil I felt from them was undeniable.' Sarah then heard the bell go off, and she stood up off the bench before making her way back into the school just as students rushed out of their classes. The hallway was a stream of students- some heading for their lockers, while others were heading out for lunch. The rest were heading for the Cafeteria, while Sarah strode in the opposite direction towards the library.
Hallway, Sunnydale High, 1235 hours.
While Sarah was heading for the library, Tara and Buffy walked out of their class and was heading for the cafeteria to meet Willow, Oz, and Xander. Their plan was to have lunch and then go to the library where they could talk to Giles about the murder It weighed heavy on Tara's mind that someone used what she thought to be an occult symbol to murder children. There were hushed murmurs in the class of witches being responsible while there were other hushed tones that brought up a few names Tara recognised – namely Amy and Adam, a teen who dressed in goth wear who attended one of her classes.
With her book bag slung over her shoulders, Tara walked next to Buffy through the throngs of students heading for the cafeteria.
"Is your mom going to be okay?" asked Tara.
"I don't know," Buffy replied looking over at Tara, "she was pretty shaken up about the whole thing." Buffy then looked away while the both of them still walked side by side. The blonde Slayer then turned her head back to Tara and asked softly, "you sure you didn't recognise the symbol?"
"No," Tara replied shaking her head. They continued to walk through the hallway when a young blonde woman brushed by Tara. The blonde witch turned her head towards the dark-haired woman who narrowed her eyes at her. Their eyes locked as Tara's heart raced when she recognised the woman as the very same demon she encountered in her first few days at Sunnydale High. 'Or was it the first day here?' Tara thought to herself. She could see the woman's demonic aura, and the green coloured pendant she was wearing before she looked away and rushed to Harmony.
Tara looked away and then turned to Buffy who was looking at her with a questioning look on her face. It was then that Tara realised Buffy had stopped walking and was standing still.
"You okay?" asked Buffy as she leaned sideways to look at the young woman behind Tara. She was at the lockers now laughing with Harmony and her little clique. Buffy then turned to Tara who was frowning. "Tara? You okay?"
"Yeah," Tara said shaking her head as she commenced walking once again. Buffy looked back at the young woman, and then she turned back to Tara and rushed towards her. Walking side by side once again, Buffy glanced at the worried look on Tara's face. Taking her clue from what Tara had told her about her sexuality, Buffy thought that Tara was interested in the girl. Buffy thought that Tara was worried the young woman with the pendent had a boyfriend.
"You know," asked Buffy as she looked over at Tara, "I could ask her if she has someone who…. You know. I mean if she doesn't have a boyfriend then you could…"
"Huh?" Tara asked with a quizzical look on her face that interrupted Buffy, who guessed she probably had it all wrong.
"You looked worried when you looked at that girl and… well… I thought that you wanted to ask her out."
"Oh… no, no," Tara shook her head vigorously before looking over her shoulder at the dark-haired woman who closed the locker door and was about to walk away with Harmony and her friends. "I'm not interested in her."
"Oh," Buffy said while walking alongside Tara as she looked back at the mysterious girl.
'But I am kinda interested in you,' Tara thought as she gazed at Buffy's profile before looking away just as Buffy turned her head to look at Tara. Tara looked at the mysterious girl, and then back at the Slayer, "I.. I think that girl's a demon, Buffy."
Buffy arrowed her eyes at Tara, stopped, and then looked back at the dark-haired woman. Tara stopped as well, and looked at Buffy, and then followed her line of sight at the woman who brushed past her earlier. Buffy then turned her head back to Tara and asked her if she was absolutely sure.
that the young woman was a demon. Tara nodded her head before Buffy looked back at the young woman with the green coloured pendent.
"Maybe she's the one who killed the kids," Buffy whispered as she started to walk towards the mysterious woman. Tara shook her head before she strode past several other students before placing a hand on Buffy's shoulder. Tara whispered into her ear after Buffy stopped. Buffy, after hearing what Tara had to say, turned back to the blonde witch with surprise on her face, "you knew she was a demon?"
"I saw her when I first came to Sunnydale High," Tara said nodding her head, "I.. I mean the day you introduced Ford?" Buffy nodded her head and asked Tara to continue, "I didn't know you were the Slayer then, and… well… she slipped out of my mind by the time I found out you were the Slayer. That's why I didn't mention her." Tara then looked at the mysterious girl, and back at Buffy, "What I'm trying to say is that there were no reports of murdered kids when I saw her back then. And now?" Tara gave a little shrug before shaking her head, "I don't think she was the one who did it."
"I've seen her around too," Buffy admitted looking at the girl walking away with Harmony and the other. Buffy then turned back to Tara and asked her to head back to the library, "Faith should be there. Giles is tutoring her today before she meets with Jenny. I'll go after the girl. If she really didn't do it, then maybe she knows who did."
"I'll go with you," Tara said without thinking.
"It's too dangerous," Buffy countered. But Tara was having none of it as she shook her head before saying that she was going with Buffy.
"I can tell you if she's telling the truth, Buffy," Tara pointed out. Buffy saw the determination on Tara's face and sighed. Buffy looked back at the young woman walking through another hallway and Buffy turned back to Tara and nodded her.
"You're staying behind me, Tara," Buffy said, with Tara nodding her head. The both of them then took off after the mysterious girl with the green pendent, hoping that she may have some answers.
TBC.