Chapter 51
Return To Oz is SO not a Kids Movie
Falling in a Slayer dream is every bit as terrifying as in real life, and it's as my body smashes down into the bed of a passing truck that I realise it's because I am sharing Faith's memory. I feel the wet crack and following failed attempt at inflating my lungs, and then the pain begins to flood through me. Or her. Or us.
I realise a few moments later as the pain shifts to a bubbling, fizzing sensation that it no longer her memory but my reality. I am waking up to a body stinging store and numb all at once, my limbs limp and heavy, my fingers twitching of their own accord. I am face down, wrists cuffed together, being carried by the elbows between two huge soldiers down a dimly lit corridor of stone, my legs trailing uselessly behind me along the steel treadplate. I can't see far through my loose hair, but I make out a row of cells to my left. We stop, and a door hisses open.
"Special delivery" a boy's voice says.
"Cell fifteen for this one and… wait a minute. Willow?" A deeper voice that I swear I remember from somewhere, I try to look up but my damned neck is in la la land right now. "That's Willow Rosenberg. You remember? Buffy's friend?"
"Can't say I do." Says the first voice.
"Oh shit, hey, I know her too. You sure she is a HST? I didn't get no vibe off her."
"Ain't that the point? They hide in plain sight. Besides, The General said she was. That's good enough for me."
"You sure though?"
"Dude, the brunette took one hell of a lot of juice for us to bring down. More than that Polgara. More than anything I seen."
"Well, what is she then?" Forest says. Forest, that's it, the smooth talker from the kegger Buffy dragged me kicking and screaming to the night I… the night Spike… shit, keep it together Lexi. Focus on getting some body part to move ASAP. Toe. Start with a toe.
Shit.
"Who cares what it is? It's just meat for the eggheads now. One less HST out there."
"Ah man. This sucks. She seemed real nice is all. Buffy said this girl saved her life once. Gave her mouth to mouth. Why would an HST do that? Does that make sense to you?"
Okay, toes are go. Pinky… good. Kneecap… can I get kneecap twitch? Okay that's go on the kneecap.
"Look Forest, if you have doubts on The General's direct orders, how about you take them up with The General himself."
"Nah, I'm good. It's… nothing. It's just… man, I tell you, I was right next to her at this party, we talked. She was funny. I had no idea."
"Oh Forest, no."
"What?"
"Seriously?"
"You had the hots for an HST? Oh wait until the guys… "
"Lock that shit down tight Cooper before I pull rank on your asses."
Oh. OH. OW. It's like when you wake up and you fell asleep on an arm, only all over. Pins and needles times Slayer senses. Yee-frikkin-ouch to the power of yikes. But my body is coming back to me. I grit my teeth and try not to cry out.
"Wait… did she just move?"
"Dude, I told you, we emptied like three shock charges a piece to get it to go down."
"Okay, well, we better juice her up again before…"
Look, call me fickle if you wish, but I personally? I strongly react to the idea of being electrocuted again. So I politely decline. I politely decline hard enough to shrug off the guard on my left and ram the one to my right into the stone wall hard enough to feel the air rush out of him.
"Light it up." Says the one to the right. My booted foot says "shush now" and sends him spiralling down to the metal floor.
I flick my head back and take in the scene. We are in a block of cells, some six or so chambers deep. A few meters ahead, two stunned looking guards have an unconscious Willow between them, halfway into an open cell. Forest is to my right, dressed as they all are. And now it becomes so plainly obvious to me that the whole frat were soldiers. How did I miss it? Well, I didn't miss this time. I bring my cuffed hands together into one big fist and bring it down on the guard to my right's back. It's right out of Captain Kirk' play book, but it sure works a treat when you have Slayer strength and are real pissed.
Somebody has hit an alarm, and I know I don't have long, so I take a breath and assess. Two downed soldiers (yay me), three conscious soldiers, three shock guns, but most importantly, one vulnerable Willow. I hear a lot of boots clattering down the hall behind me, and make the plan in a heart beat.
I run at Forest, head down and slam him back into the cell glass behind him. The struggle is short, as I expect, as a moment later the first blast hits me. I don't feel the fist that follows, but I am pretty sure it sends me to the ground before the next blast sends me screaming back into the black.
I regain consciousness in what feels like seconds later, but I have no idea how much time has passed. I am cold, curled up in the fetal position in a featureless room. One wall is made of glass, and I don't need to touch it to know it is electrified, I can feel the static and hear the hum.
I am sure I don't look dignified, hair singed and wild, drool plastered to my cheeks. My cheek throbbing from what is no doubt a shiner. But I have my small victory, I feel the comforting stab of the key fob from Forest's belt tucked in my sleeve. Plan a sort of success. I would pat myself on the head if I wasn't basically a drooling girl shaped block of jello.
Soon enough Slayer healing works its mojo, and I find myself able to sit up and take in my surroundings in a little more detail. My cell has a camera with a little red light. As I shift side to side, it tracks me, moving with a little whir. The floor is rubbery and stinks of… something awful. The walls show scratch marks of something trying to claw its way out. I can't blame it for that, I can only wonder what happened to it that left this cell free. I shudder.
"Don't touch the glass." Comes a weak, croaky voice. The cell across from me is dark, a shaft of light comes from the vent in the roof. I see no occupant. But then I realise the voice came from the cell diagonally to my left. I can make out the silhouette of a young man, and as my eyes adjust I am horrified to realise who the pale, gaunt face belongs to.
"Oz?"
