Chapter 168
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Note: Joni and Schmidt are from the same universe as my story "Slouching towards Bethlehem" but are not characters seen in this novel.
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In his lifetime of study Rupert Giles had studied numerous versions of Hell. Fire and brimstone were the best known version, but others depicted Hell as icy cold. In some, the climate was relatively neutral, what made it scary was that it never ended. Buffy and her group had seen numerous hell dimensions, with numerous climates. This version, which claimed to be the "true Hell" had many different climates. At the moment, they were in a desert. Faith said they had to cross this desert to get to the Master's kingdom. Wilkins had come to an understanding with the warlord of this desert, which allowed transport across this place and meant non-interference in internal affairs. They found a young woman, Joni, who appeared to be dying of thirst. They gave her some of their water, and she told what she knew.
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Joni: Thank you.
Buffy: I take it this warlord isn't too concerned about helping his subjects.
Joni: As far as I know, he never was. We're from the same world, but we never crossed paths.
Giles: What world is that?
Joni: I don't know what number it was, but we call it the "Slouching towards Bethlehem" world.
Giles: The one with the asteroid?
Joni: Yes. I was a schoolteacher before Febuary 4th, then we all went a little mad when we found out the world was ending. When the war came, my brother fought and died in the loyalist army. When it ended, president Mason tried to have the children of loyalists and collectivists educated together. I was too filled with hatred and revenge over my brother's death. So, I blew myself up in the school.
Willow: You murdered children?
Joni: Yes, hence why I'm in Hell.
Faith: Even I never did that.
Xander: Although you were helping the Mayor in his plan for world domination, which would likely have led to the deaths of children.
Faith: Okay, I was bad too. Who is this guy in charge here?
Joni: His name is Schmidt. With all the chaos of the war, he was able to sieze a fair amount of water in Arizona, it became a very scarce resource. He ran his own "kingdom" in Arizona. It wasn't much, but he enjoyed the power this brought him. He liked the idea he had something to leave his daughter. From what I've heard, even in the last week before impact, he refused to share this water with the local refugees. There was a rebellion, Schmidt was killed in the final days. His daughter, I think she was 18 or 19, then claimed that this water was all hers, and still refused to give water. She was killed within hours after her father. Schmidt gave his daughter a nice inheritance, she just didn't live long enough to enjoy it. Now, Schmidt is doing the same tricks. Why not, it still works.
Faith: Look, I work for Richard Wilkins. If you want to go to his kingdom, you'll have enough food and water. Pretty strict rules, takes some getting used to.
Joni: I'll take it.
Faith: No problem, anything you can tell us about the Master's kingdom?
Joni: By Master you mean, the vampire king?
Buffy: That's one title for him yes.
Joni: We know where it is, but honestly most of us prefer this place. As bad as it is, it's better than his kingdom.
Xander: We have a friend there we need to rescue. We'll take our chances.
Joni: Then good luck, and God be with you.