Construction Site
Tower
The blood felt cold as it trickled from the slick cuts sliced through Dawn's dress and down her ankles dripping through the crate holes of the shifting scaffold plank.
Her magical blood did not touch the ground. In the air just below, the blood formed together creating a bright white portal door leading into the dimensions that were unknown. Crawling out through the portal door were demons thirsty for blood and chaos.
Up above on top of the shifting scaffold plank, Dawn heard her name being called from behind. She turned to see Buffy running towards her. The Vampire Slayer grabbed her young sister by the arms and pulled her away from the edge.
Dawn looked at her sister tearfully and cried, "Buffy, it's started."
High above in the dark morning sky, a dragon flew over their heads breathing fire across the silver stars.
"I'm sorry," Dawn said shaking with fear as lightning beams shot out from the portal burning buildings that surrounded the construction site.
Calmly, Buffy shook her head and whispered, "It doesn't matter."
Trying desperately to control her breathing, Dawn to her left to the edge for to the scaffold and took a deep breath that hadn't changed her panic. She started to rip herself away when Buffy tightened her arms around Dawn's arms.
"What are you doing?" Buffy asked looking at her sister with surprise and deep concern.
"I have to jump," Dawn said as her tears freely fell from the corners of her eyes finally concluding to her final decision aloud. "The energy—"
"It'll kill you."
Sadly, Dawn nodded her head with understanding, "I know. Buffy, I know the ritual. I have to stop it."
Refusing to hear any of it, Buffy shook her head racking her brain for an alternative.
The earth under their feet shook violently. The concrete ground ripped apart opening the fiery gates of Hell. Demons emerged from the bloody depths, tearing up to the surface with a roar.
"Look at what's happening!" Dawn cried.
A lightning bolt pierced through the skies catching Buffy's attention. For the first time, she looked down below and saw Hell taking over the world she was Chosen to protect. The roars and screams exploded through the chilling air.
"Buffy," Buffy slowly turned her eyes to her sister and started, "you have to let me go. The blood starts it until the blood stops flowing. It'll never stop."
Inside, Buffy felt the powerful blood she had been cursed with. She keenly felt her cursed blood pump through her every vessel. The longer, Buffy's eyes lingered on Dawn's face the more she began to understand. The cursed blood she had been cursed with was shared. It was in Dawn's veins too as it was in her mother and father. Her blood was not cursed. It was special. It had powers that were unbelievable. It was Summers blood.
Death is your gift. The Primitive Slayer's voice whispered into Buffy's ears like the wind.
She felt a comforting warmth wash over her. It was a warmth that she had never felt before. It hugged her tightly. It felt safe.
In the corner of Buffy's eye, she noticed a soft yellow-orange glow appear from the bottom surface. It contrasted the dark night sky.
The sun always goes down. The sun always comes up. The soft voice of her mother floated in her mind.
A sense of tranquil peace washed over Buffy not longer feeling afraid or in pain of guilt. She had never had this sense of quiet before. Her entire body floated in a single solitude of hum.
Terrified, Dawn witnessed the change in Buffy and began to work up her argument against whatever was in Buffy's mind. "Buffy, no…"
Buffy slowly turned her eyes to Dawn's weeping face, "Dawnie… I have to."
"No!" Dawn cried closing her eyes to the sting of her salty tears.
"Dawnie," Buffy squeezed Dawn's shoulder getting her attention. "Listen to me. Please, there's not a lot of time. Listen." She brushed the pads of her thumbs over Dawn's cheekbones wiping away the fallen tears. She spoke softly with a warmth their mother's voice used to possess.
Taking her final minutes to memorize the beauty of her sister. Buffy had not felt the need to join Dawn's tears. She felt nothing but her swelling heart filled with love. Slowly, Buffy leant forward pressing her lips against Dawn's cheek.
In a blink of an eye, a minuscule of a second, Buffy swan dived off the crate scaffold edge into the platform with her eyes open staring out at the rising sun. The sun always comes up. Her mother's words echoed in her mind over and over again as the sun rose from behind the horizon.
The world seemed to fall away as her vision disappeared into the white light of the portal leading to the unknown, leaving only her earthly body.
Sprinting through the cloud of thick debris, Graham felt his heart beating in his throat and a tightening in his chest of dread.
Immediately spotting her youngest daughter, Joyce ran to Dawn wrapping her arms around her tightly. Joyce drew back her head looking down at the young brunette and wiping the tears from her eyes. "Where's Buffy?"
The sound of her sister's name made the tears fall harder down her face.
Graham pushed through the group heading straight for the body laid across stacked broken wooden crates.
"Buffy?" He went down to his knees pressing two fingers to her neck feeling for a pulse then held his ear over her mouth waiting for her soft breath to hit the side of his face. He straightened up and looked down at her with disbelief and held his hands gently around her face. "B—Buffy?" He whispered her name afraid he'd startle her awake if he spoke too loudly. A smile tugged at his lips as he smoothed her hair from her face. "It's—It's time to wake up. We won, baby. C'mon…" Graham tilted his head to the side waiting patiently for her bright green eyes to snap open with a start.
He concentrated his eyes on her mouth just waiting with deep anticipation for her to gasp for breath.
Minutes passed, Graham felt his heart beat faster and harder inside his chest until the moment, she suddenly coughed, taking in gasps of air. He held his breath watching her eyes flutter open. "Graham…" she hoarsely whispered.
Weeping with joy, Graham pushed her hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear and said with a joyous smile, "I'm right here."
Slowly, Buffy lifted her head from the broken crates under and pressed her forehead against his breathing in his outdoorsy sent. "Ouch…" Her warm hand held over his that was against her cheek. She turned her eyes to his face and frowned slightly, "You're bleeding."
For the first time, Graham noticed the blood staining his hand and said, "It's not mine."
"Oh, Buffy," Giles said as he and the others moved towards them smiled with happiness to see the Vampire Slayer alive and well. "It's a miracle." He grinned, "A beautiful miracle—"
Graham blinked back into reality slowly realizing that the scene he had envisioned was only in his head. "Buffy?"
He turned his blue eyes downward to Buffy's face and swallowed the lump caught in his throat. Gently, he ran the pad of his blood stained thumb over her cheekbone and desperately began to shake her awake. "Buffy? C'mon, baby, you gotta wake up."
Buffy's lifeless body laid cold under his warm hands. Panic rose through his entire body. His breath quickened trying to shake her awake. "Buffy!" Graham shouted in her face. "Buffy!"
Unable to hold back the tears clouding his vision, Graham smoothed back the fallen strands of blonde hair from her beautiful face and let the tears slip down his cheeks. "Buffy…" his chin quivered, "… please, you—you gotta wake up… please…" The wet tears streaming down his face was unstoppable as he continued to beg Buffy to wake up.
