CROSS ROADS
Part 7
Barrington, Mulder, Scully, and Fronk had watched the tape that Buffy had found early that morning. It was the tape the others had already viewed at the library. For those who had watched it once, they-Giles, Jenny, and Lenox-watched it a second time and it was not any easier to watch than before. In fact, it was harder. But it was necessary. They were trying to look for clues as to where the tape was recorded.
"My God, that poor child!" Scully finally managed to exclaim after she witnessed what Willow was made to suffer through.
"The 'child's' name is Willow," Giles retorted, somewhat defensively. For some reason he couldn't explain, he had found Scully's comment distasteful. "A-and it has been my experience to-to be able to watch Willow grow as a most resourceful member of...of the Slayerette's, as she calls us. I strongly believe that she will come out of this in one piece..." He suddenly frowned. "I-I just don't know how this is going to be accomplished exactly."
Jenny put her hand on his back reassuringly. Giles wasn't good at
expressing his true feelings for those he cared about, unless there was
extreme pressure put upon him. It was evidently clear that he was afraid for Willow. They all were.
"That has to be some kind of factory," Barrington replied as he had the tape paused at the scene where two terrorists were banging on large barrels. "Look at those drums. They seem old and rusted through in spots."
Fronk raised an eyebrow, imitating Spock. "Fascinating!"
Mulder shrugged his shoulders. "Factories make great hiding places if
you're looking for a place to hide. I saw three of them on my way into
town. One of them seemed occupied, but the other two looked barren."
"Then we should check those other two factories out," Lenox replied. He turned to Giles. "Are there any other factories around Sunnydale?"
Giles glanced at Jenny, thinking about the layout of the town in his mind. He could recall all of the displays and schematics that amazing Willow was able to get onto the computer, and they had always been extremely detailed. "I-I believe the three factories that Agent Mulder refers to are right at the borders of Sunnydale. Er, one of them indeed is occupied and there are quite a bit of Sunnydalers that have jobs there. We can definitely count that one out. The other two are somewhat empty, however, one of them is presently occupied by...shall we say troublesome people." He shook his head. "Trust me, we do not want to disturb them." He didn't want to mention vampires because he didn't want to discuss that particular topic with Mulder and Scully.
Mulder regarded him. "There shouldn't be one stone unturned."
"Well...a gang of a sort has moved in and-and taken up residence there since the beginning of the year, Mr. Mulder. They have made it very clear that they do not want any visitors." He was thinking of Spike and Druscilla, and any of their minions that now resided there at the old factory.
Scully glanced at Mulder. "What about the third factory?"
"That might actually be our best place to begin our search. However, I must point out that on the other side of town there is an old abandoned quarry. It is approximately five miles, perhaps more, out of town. It has been deserted for twenty years or so."
"Why is that?" Barrington asked.
"Well...er, there had been some kind of explosion and-and a poisonous gas had spread throughout the quarry. The gas had been so deadly that it had actually killed most of the workers almost instantaneously." He looked at Barrington. "It has been condemned since then, and certainly by now, it is most unsafe. I-I find it highly unlikely that the terrorists would be there."
Lenox opened his mouth to say something, but the door opened and in walked Buffy, Cordelia, and Stacy. They were agitated.
And Xander was not with them.
"He's gone!" Buffy exclaimed. "H-he must have left when he saw this!" She held up another tape.
Barrington took it and he switched tapes with the VCR.
"I was talking with my Mom on the phone, and Xander must have been watching that tape! When I returned to get him, the television was on, but he was gone." Buffy turned to Giles with worry in her eyes. "I just knew he was going to do something stupid! Giles, he's going to get himself killed!"
"Buffy, we will go after him," Giles said reassuringly.
Cordelia looked at Mulder and Scully with a puzzled look. She also took in Barrington and Fronk. "Hey...who are these guys? The A-Team?"
Lenox introduced his partners, and Barrington introduced Mulder and Scully.
Buffy leaned close to Giles and pointed at Mulder and Scully. "Do they know about...?" she trailed off and looked at the Watcher questioningly.
Giles shook his head. "No, Buffy. Of course not."
But Mulder moved toward them with a knowing grin. "Actually, Giles, I do know. Only at first, I was thinking that it was Willow because they
kidnapped her." He looked at Buffy closely. "But you're the one they
want."
Buffy tried to look blank. "Me? Why would you think that the terrorists would want me?"
Mulder grinned. "It's on the tape, Buffy. But even if it wasn't, I could figure it out." He paused for affect. "You're the Slayer, aren't you?"
Buffy's mouth dropped open.
Scully shook her head and raised her arms in supplication. "Mulder..."
Mulder ignored her. He kept his attention focused on Buffy. "'Into each generation a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with the strength and skill to fight the vampires-'"
Scully tossed up her hands. "Not the vampires again, Mulder!"
"'-to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers.'"
Buffy regarded Mulder for a moment, and then she turned to Giles. "Can't secrets still be secrets any more? W-was I-I on Oprah sleepwalking or something, because how is it that I keep running into people who know who I am?"
"Don't take him seriously," Scully told Buffy. "Agent Mulder has a lot of theories. I don't know why he believes that you're some kind of vampire hunter, but it's clear to me that this isn't about vampires." She looked sternly at Mulder. "It's about terrorists."
Mulder nodded. "I agree with that, Scully. But somehow, these terrorists have discovered what Buffy is and they've also discovered that the Hellmouth is real. Don't you see? They want to open the Hellmouth and destroy the world!"
"Mulder! We don't have time for this! There is an innocent child out there suffering at the hands of terrorists!"
Giles frowned. "That 'child' has a name."
The agents either ignored him or they didn't hear him so intent were they on each other.
"No, we don't have time," Mulder snapped back at Scully. "And just once, I'd like for you to put away your damn science and your close-minded disbelief and open up your eyes." He pointed at Buffy. "For every vampire in this world, there is a Slayer. There is a Slayer Code, Scully. Do you want to hear it?"
"No!" Scully exclaimed.
"Too bad. That code is this...Destroy all vampires with the obligatory aid of super strength, fighting ability and an acute and intense gift of timing. Think of it as being bitten by a radioactive spider minus the leotard."
Scully shook her head. "Mulder--"
"It's not only vampires, Scully, that a Slayer has chosen the responsibility to annihilate. They also have to time-out demons, monsters and just about every other kind of nasty that can come to mind. And when a Slayer times a monster out, it doesn't involve making them stand in a corner. Usually the end result is a heinously bloody slaughter, sometimes accompanied by one of today's hottest bands." He looked at Buffy. "Am I right?"
"Uh..." Buffy shrugged. "Yeah...I guess."
Mulder fixed his gaze on Scully. "With the aid of a Watcher--who I am
certain is Mr. Giles who trains and looks out for Buffy--these superhuman do-gooders have been mostly known to lurk in the shadows alone, following their prey...the blood-sucking undead."
Scully rolled her eyes. "Mulder...enough already. That little girl--"
"Wait, Scully, there's more." He turned to look at Buffy. "Because as you can imagine," he said to Scully, "these heroes have an unhealthy expiration date...most don't live to see past 20."
Buffy let out a sigh. "Thanks for that little tidbit. That was something I really DIDN'T want to hear."
"Sorry."
Scully was disgusted. "Mulder...sometimes you are just too much."
Mulder shrugged. "Maybe for you, I am too much, Scully. But I do have one more thing to say to you."
"What's that, Mulder?"
"The 'child's' name is Willow." He let out a sigh. "Why don't we look at the other tape now? Maybe there will be something on it to help us find Willow."
Giles suddenly had a thought. "Wait a moment! This new tape..." He looked at Buffy. "You say that Xander watched it?"
She nodded. "Why?"
"P-perhaps Xander saw something on it that may have suggested to him where the terrorists were holding Willow." He looked at Stacy, Cordelia, and Buffy. "Did any of you watch this tape?"
Barrington had the tape playing on the VCR and the Knife was beginning his tirade.
Stacy nodded once. "We saw it."
Giles looked at Buffy. "Think, Buffy. Was there anything you saw that
might have prompted Xander to leave?"
Buffy was frustrated. "God! I...I don't know, Giles! All I saw was Willow and that terrorist!" She sighed as she tried to think about the tape. "It-it was almost like watching the first one."
"Except in this tape, Willow actually looked like she was sleeping,"
Cordelia replied. "She was even talking in her sleep."
Everyone looked at her.
Stacy nodded her head. "Yes. That's right. Willow was talking in her
sleep."
"What was she saying?" Mulder asked.
"She was repeating Xander's name..." Stacy looked at Buffy and Cordelia as if to receive confirmation. "And she said something about a dragon."
Jenny frowned. "A dragon?"
"What could Willow have meant by that?" Giles asked, deep in thought.
Stacy shrugged. "I don't know."
"Well," Cordelia began, "I just think Willow was having a nice dream because she was talking in her sleep about being rescued from a dragon by a knight." She paused in thought. "I think there was something about a tower."
Buffy froze. "Oh, God! Xander told me something about a tower. There was a tower that he and Willow had climbed on when they were kids!"
Lenox turned to Giles. He had been listening in on them. "What about it, Giles? Does any one of those factories we've already discussed have a tower of some kind?"
Giles shook his head. "No, Mr. Lenox...they do not." He took off his
glasses and looked at Lenox with fierce determination. "But the quarry
does."
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Willow had decided that she had had enough suffering.
Xander's death had been the last straw.
She withdrew deep within herself, so far, in fact that she did not even hear any of the loud racket that her enemies continued to cause. She closed her eyes and thought of Xander, knowing that he was surely in heaven and that he was waiting for her.
The door to her cell slammed open and in walked both Jhamel and Julius.
Jhamel had a tray with a bottle of water and a few pieces of stale bread. He put it down onto the bed beside her.
"You must eat," he ordered. "Drink."
She did so, but automatically. They watched her until the bread was gone and the water as well. When she was done, she looked helplessly at the floor. "I...I have to go."
Julius scowled at her. "You are not going anywhere!"
Jhamel looked at him. "She means she has to use the toilet, Rueben." He untied the rope from the headboard, but he kept her wrists bound together. He tugged on the rope and she followed them out of her cell.
She was led to a small bathroom, which was across a huge open area. There were three terrorists spreading out weapons on a table, but she barely noticed. Once in the bathroom, they closed the door and left her alone. However, they had given her orders not to lock the door.
She looked around the bathroom.
There was a toilet, a sink, and a mirror. But that was all. There was
nothing she could use to take her own life. If she attempted to break the mirror, they would be in to stop her in seconds. She bowed her head and cried softly for a moment...and when she raised her head, she saw something behind the toilet. It was a hole in the wall...and it was just big enough for her to crawl into.
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"OPEN THE DOOR!!" Julius demanded angrily.
From the table of weaponry, Jhamel turned his head to look at his right hand man, expecting the girl to immediately obey. After all, to disobey would only incur his wrath. Surely she did not want that.
But the door did not open.
Furious, Julius swung the door open and he stormed in. Willow, however, was nowhere in sight. Julius scowled as he looked around in confusion. Then he looked at the toilet. He was standing there, looking into it when Jhamel entered.
"Where is she?" he demanded.
Julius did not answer. Because in his rage, he wrapped his arms around the base of the toilet and he tore it loose from the floor. He then flung the toilet from it where it hit the wall, breaking the mirror, and then it crashed to the floor. Having tossed the toilet aside, Julius glared at the small hole in the corner where it had been behind the toilet. Two other terrorists came in behind Jhamel as Julius tore at the wall near the hole. Suddenly, he broke through the wall and stepped out into the sunlight. He was just outside the warehouse now and he looked furiously around the quarry...until he saw Willow.
The girl was climbing up the tower and she was already more than half way up it.
Jhamel saw this and he called an alarm. He barked out orders to his men. Soon, nine terrorists were gathered around at the bottom of the tower, and one of them was about to climb it. Jhamel cursed himself, knowing that the man would never reach her in time.
She was at the very top, standing precariously at the ledge.
The wind caused her hair to sway about her face, and for one precious
moment, she enjoyed the caress of the wind as she resolved in her mind what she was about to do. She was going to be with him and no one was going to stop her.
"Xander..." she whispered. She closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I love you so much."
"WILLOW!!"
Willow opened her eyes. Far below, she saw a boy running toward the tower. She blinked. No...not a boy. A young hero!
"X-Xander?" she whispered to herself in wonder.
Xander ran as fast as he could and he carried with him a very big stick. Julius got right in his path fully believing that he would intimidate the foolish hero-wanna-be. He was wrong. Like a baseball bat, Xander swung and connected the stick to Julius' head. The terrorist staggered and fell to one knee.
Xander stopped in front of him. "This one's for Willow, you
son-of-a-bitch!"
Xander hit him again and the stick broke as Julius fell. Xander dropped the remains of the stick and ran past the terrorist. As he began to make the climb up the tower, Julius whipped out his knife and got to his feet. His face was red with rage as he began to give chase.
"Rueben!" Jhamel shouted. "Stop!!"
Julius did, but he was not happy with the order. He glared at Jhamel.
Jhamel approached him. "Let him get to the girl and when he brings her
down, you may hurt him." He held up a warning finger. "But we need them both alive."
Julius glared up at the tower.
On the precarious ledge, Willow's eyes were fixed on Xander. She still
couldn't make up her mind if this was a dream or if it was a twisted trick the terrorists were playing on her...or if it truly were Xander. Xander made it to the ledge and he grabbed her and pulled her close to him.
"X-Xander...?" Willow raised her bound hands to touch his face. Her eyes looked into his, her eyes looked at his mouth, his chin...his face. "Oh, p- please tell me...I-is it really you?"
Xander nodded his head as he held her to him. "Yes, Willow. It's really me." He looked into her eyes. "He didn't kill me. That blood was...it was probably blood from a rat or something, Will...But it wasn't mine."
"You-you're alive..." She put her head on his shoulder and cried.
He hugged her tight. "I won't let you go, Willow. I promise you...I will never let you go."
"XANDER!!" Jhamel shouted from below. "YOU WILL BRING HER DOWN NOW! OR WE WILL COME UP AND GET YOU BOTH!"
Xander glared down at the terrorists. Where else could they possibly go but down? They had no choice. They had to climb back down into the waiting hands of the enemy.
Suddenly, his eyes spotted something. Below, standing next to what appeared to be a boarded-up hole in the ground was a man. For some reason he couldn't explain, Xander knew that the man wasn't a terrorist. Actually, the man looked a lot like Christopher Walken...Xander frowned. Xander then noticed that there was a rope hanging above the boarded-up hole and that rope went all the way up to the top of the tower, hanging from a pulley.
Xander looked toward the hole again, but the man was no longer there.
"No way," he said to himself as a crazy idea struck him.
He looked down at the terrorists. "WE'RE COMING DOWN!" he shouted. Then he took Willow's face in his hands. "Willow...I'm taking you away from here...at least I hope this works. But no matter what we do in the next minute or so, you have to trust me."
She looked into his eyes. "I trust you, Xander. I-I'm okay...as long as I'm with you."
He took her arms and made her loop them around his head. He promised to untie them as soon as he could. "You just hang onto me," he told her.
She nodded.
"Willow..."
She looked at him. "W-what, Xander?"
He paused. "Trust me...you might want to close your eyes for this."
"Okay..." She closed her eyes.
Xander picked her up and then he leapt from the ledge. Below, the
terrorists watched in complete astonishment. Jhamel's mouth dropped open.
Xander grabbed the rope and like a rocket, he and Willow were falling fast. The fell through the boards that had covered the hole in the ground and they disappeared from sight.
Julius roared in anger. Then before anyone could stop him, he ran for the hole and dove in after Xander and Willow, his prey. He intended to make certain they never left that hole alive.
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TO BE CONTINUED....
Part 7
Barrington, Mulder, Scully, and Fronk had watched the tape that Buffy had found early that morning. It was the tape the others had already viewed at the library. For those who had watched it once, they-Giles, Jenny, and Lenox-watched it a second time and it was not any easier to watch than before. In fact, it was harder. But it was necessary. They were trying to look for clues as to where the tape was recorded.
"My God, that poor child!" Scully finally managed to exclaim after she witnessed what Willow was made to suffer through.
"The 'child's' name is Willow," Giles retorted, somewhat defensively. For some reason he couldn't explain, he had found Scully's comment distasteful. "A-and it has been my experience to-to be able to watch Willow grow as a most resourceful member of...of the Slayerette's, as she calls us. I strongly believe that she will come out of this in one piece..." He suddenly frowned. "I-I just don't know how this is going to be accomplished exactly."
Jenny put her hand on his back reassuringly. Giles wasn't good at
expressing his true feelings for those he cared about, unless there was
extreme pressure put upon him. It was evidently clear that he was afraid for Willow. They all were.
"That has to be some kind of factory," Barrington replied as he had the tape paused at the scene where two terrorists were banging on large barrels. "Look at those drums. They seem old and rusted through in spots."
Fronk raised an eyebrow, imitating Spock. "Fascinating!"
Mulder shrugged his shoulders. "Factories make great hiding places if
you're looking for a place to hide. I saw three of them on my way into
town. One of them seemed occupied, but the other two looked barren."
"Then we should check those other two factories out," Lenox replied. He turned to Giles. "Are there any other factories around Sunnydale?"
Giles glanced at Jenny, thinking about the layout of the town in his mind. He could recall all of the displays and schematics that amazing Willow was able to get onto the computer, and they had always been extremely detailed. "I-I believe the three factories that Agent Mulder refers to are right at the borders of Sunnydale. Er, one of them indeed is occupied and there are quite a bit of Sunnydalers that have jobs there. We can definitely count that one out. The other two are somewhat empty, however, one of them is presently occupied by...shall we say troublesome people." He shook his head. "Trust me, we do not want to disturb them." He didn't want to mention vampires because he didn't want to discuss that particular topic with Mulder and Scully.
Mulder regarded him. "There shouldn't be one stone unturned."
"Well...a gang of a sort has moved in and-and taken up residence there since the beginning of the year, Mr. Mulder. They have made it very clear that they do not want any visitors." He was thinking of Spike and Druscilla, and any of their minions that now resided there at the old factory.
Scully glanced at Mulder. "What about the third factory?"
"That might actually be our best place to begin our search. However, I must point out that on the other side of town there is an old abandoned quarry. It is approximately five miles, perhaps more, out of town. It has been deserted for twenty years or so."
"Why is that?" Barrington asked.
"Well...er, there had been some kind of explosion and-and a poisonous gas had spread throughout the quarry. The gas had been so deadly that it had actually killed most of the workers almost instantaneously." He looked at Barrington. "It has been condemned since then, and certainly by now, it is most unsafe. I-I find it highly unlikely that the terrorists would be there."
Lenox opened his mouth to say something, but the door opened and in walked Buffy, Cordelia, and Stacy. They were agitated.
And Xander was not with them.
"He's gone!" Buffy exclaimed. "H-he must have left when he saw this!" She held up another tape.
Barrington took it and he switched tapes with the VCR.
"I was talking with my Mom on the phone, and Xander must have been watching that tape! When I returned to get him, the television was on, but he was gone." Buffy turned to Giles with worry in her eyes. "I just knew he was going to do something stupid! Giles, he's going to get himself killed!"
"Buffy, we will go after him," Giles said reassuringly.
Cordelia looked at Mulder and Scully with a puzzled look. She also took in Barrington and Fronk. "Hey...who are these guys? The A-Team?"
Lenox introduced his partners, and Barrington introduced Mulder and Scully.
Buffy leaned close to Giles and pointed at Mulder and Scully. "Do they know about...?" she trailed off and looked at the Watcher questioningly.
Giles shook his head. "No, Buffy. Of course not."
But Mulder moved toward them with a knowing grin. "Actually, Giles, I do know. Only at first, I was thinking that it was Willow because they
kidnapped her." He looked at Buffy closely. "But you're the one they
want."
Buffy tried to look blank. "Me? Why would you think that the terrorists would want me?"
Mulder grinned. "It's on the tape, Buffy. But even if it wasn't, I could figure it out." He paused for affect. "You're the Slayer, aren't you?"
Buffy's mouth dropped open.
Scully shook her head and raised her arms in supplication. "Mulder..."
Mulder ignored her. He kept his attention focused on Buffy. "'Into each generation a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with the strength and skill to fight the vampires-'"
Scully tossed up her hands. "Not the vampires again, Mulder!"
"'-to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers.'"
Buffy regarded Mulder for a moment, and then she turned to Giles. "Can't secrets still be secrets any more? W-was I-I on Oprah sleepwalking or something, because how is it that I keep running into people who know who I am?"
"Don't take him seriously," Scully told Buffy. "Agent Mulder has a lot of theories. I don't know why he believes that you're some kind of vampire hunter, but it's clear to me that this isn't about vampires." She looked sternly at Mulder. "It's about terrorists."
Mulder nodded. "I agree with that, Scully. But somehow, these terrorists have discovered what Buffy is and they've also discovered that the Hellmouth is real. Don't you see? They want to open the Hellmouth and destroy the world!"
"Mulder! We don't have time for this! There is an innocent child out there suffering at the hands of terrorists!"
Giles frowned. "That 'child' has a name."
The agents either ignored him or they didn't hear him so intent were they on each other.
"No, we don't have time," Mulder snapped back at Scully. "And just once, I'd like for you to put away your damn science and your close-minded disbelief and open up your eyes." He pointed at Buffy. "For every vampire in this world, there is a Slayer. There is a Slayer Code, Scully. Do you want to hear it?"
"No!" Scully exclaimed.
"Too bad. That code is this...Destroy all vampires with the obligatory aid of super strength, fighting ability and an acute and intense gift of timing. Think of it as being bitten by a radioactive spider minus the leotard."
Scully shook her head. "Mulder--"
"It's not only vampires, Scully, that a Slayer has chosen the responsibility to annihilate. They also have to time-out demons, monsters and just about every other kind of nasty that can come to mind. And when a Slayer times a monster out, it doesn't involve making them stand in a corner. Usually the end result is a heinously bloody slaughter, sometimes accompanied by one of today's hottest bands." He looked at Buffy. "Am I right?"
"Uh..." Buffy shrugged. "Yeah...I guess."
Mulder fixed his gaze on Scully. "With the aid of a Watcher--who I am
certain is Mr. Giles who trains and looks out for Buffy--these superhuman do-gooders have been mostly known to lurk in the shadows alone, following their prey...the blood-sucking undead."
Scully rolled her eyes. "Mulder...enough already. That little girl--"
"Wait, Scully, there's more." He turned to look at Buffy. "Because as you can imagine," he said to Scully, "these heroes have an unhealthy expiration date...most don't live to see past 20."
Buffy let out a sigh. "Thanks for that little tidbit. That was something I really DIDN'T want to hear."
"Sorry."
Scully was disgusted. "Mulder...sometimes you are just too much."
Mulder shrugged. "Maybe for you, I am too much, Scully. But I do have one more thing to say to you."
"What's that, Mulder?"
"The 'child's' name is Willow." He let out a sigh. "Why don't we look at the other tape now? Maybe there will be something on it to help us find Willow."
Giles suddenly had a thought. "Wait a moment! This new tape..." He looked at Buffy. "You say that Xander watched it?"
She nodded. "Why?"
"P-perhaps Xander saw something on it that may have suggested to him where the terrorists were holding Willow." He looked at Stacy, Cordelia, and Buffy. "Did any of you watch this tape?"
Barrington had the tape playing on the VCR and the Knife was beginning his tirade.
Stacy nodded once. "We saw it."
Giles looked at Buffy. "Think, Buffy. Was there anything you saw that
might have prompted Xander to leave?"
Buffy was frustrated. "God! I...I don't know, Giles! All I saw was Willow and that terrorist!" She sighed as she tried to think about the tape. "It-it was almost like watching the first one."
"Except in this tape, Willow actually looked like she was sleeping,"
Cordelia replied. "She was even talking in her sleep."
Everyone looked at her.
Stacy nodded her head. "Yes. That's right. Willow was talking in her
sleep."
"What was she saying?" Mulder asked.
"She was repeating Xander's name..." Stacy looked at Buffy and Cordelia as if to receive confirmation. "And she said something about a dragon."
Jenny frowned. "A dragon?"
"What could Willow have meant by that?" Giles asked, deep in thought.
Stacy shrugged. "I don't know."
"Well," Cordelia began, "I just think Willow was having a nice dream because she was talking in her sleep about being rescued from a dragon by a knight." She paused in thought. "I think there was something about a tower."
Buffy froze. "Oh, God! Xander told me something about a tower. There was a tower that he and Willow had climbed on when they were kids!"
Lenox turned to Giles. He had been listening in on them. "What about it, Giles? Does any one of those factories we've already discussed have a tower of some kind?"
Giles shook his head. "No, Mr. Lenox...they do not." He took off his
glasses and looked at Lenox with fierce determination. "But the quarry
does."
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Willow had decided that she had had enough suffering.
Xander's death had been the last straw.
She withdrew deep within herself, so far, in fact that she did not even hear any of the loud racket that her enemies continued to cause. She closed her eyes and thought of Xander, knowing that he was surely in heaven and that he was waiting for her.
The door to her cell slammed open and in walked both Jhamel and Julius.
Jhamel had a tray with a bottle of water and a few pieces of stale bread. He put it down onto the bed beside her.
"You must eat," he ordered. "Drink."
She did so, but automatically. They watched her until the bread was gone and the water as well. When she was done, she looked helplessly at the floor. "I...I have to go."
Julius scowled at her. "You are not going anywhere!"
Jhamel looked at him. "She means she has to use the toilet, Rueben." He untied the rope from the headboard, but he kept her wrists bound together. He tugged on the rope and she followed them out of her cell.
She was led to a small bathroom, which was across a huge open area. There were three terrorists spreading out weapons on a table, but she barely noticed. Once in the bathroom, they closed the door and left her alone. However, they had given her orders not to lock the door.
She looked around the bathroom.
There was a toilet, a sink, and a mirror. But that was all. There was
nothing she could use to take her own life. If she attempted to break the mirror, they would be in to stop her in seconds. She bowed her head and cried softly for a moment...and when she raised her head, she saw something behind the toilet. It was a hole in the wall...and it was just big enough for her to crawl into.
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"OPEN THE DOOR!!" Julius demanded angrily.
From the table of weaponry, Jhamel turned his head to look at his right hand man, expecting the girl to immediately obey. After all, to disobey would only incur his wrath. Surely she did not want that.
But the door did not open.
Furious, Julius swung the door open and he stormed in. Willow, however, was nowhere in sight. Julius scowled as he looked around in confusion. Then he looked at the toilet. He was standing there, looking into it when Jhamel entered.
"Where is she?" he demanded.
Julius did not answer. Because in his rage, he wrapped his arms around the base of the toilet and he tore it loose from the floor. He then flung the toilet from it where it hit the wall, breaking the mirror, and then it crashed to the floor. Having tossed the toilet aside, Julius glared at the small hole in the corner where it had been behind the toilet. Two other terrorists came in behind Jhamel as Julius tore at the wall near the hole. Suddenly, he broke through the wall and stepped out into the sunlight. He was just outside the warehouse now and he looked furiously around the quarry...until he saw Willow.
The girl was climbing up the tower and she was already more than half way up it.
Jhamel saw this and he called an alarm. He barked out orders to his men. Soon, nine terrorists were gathered around at the bottom of the tower, and one of them was about to climb it. Jhamel cursed himself, knowing that the man would never reach her in time.
She was at the very top, standing precariously at the ledge.
The wind caused her hair to sway about her face, and for one precious
moment, she enjoyed the caress of the wind as she resolved in her mind what she was about to do. She was going to be with him and no one was going to stop her.
"Xander..." she whispered. She closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I love you so much."
"WILLOW!!"
Willow opened her eyes. Far below, she saw a boy running toward the tower. She blinked. No...not a boy. A young hero!
"X-Xander?" she whispered to herself in wonder.
Xander ran as fast as he could and he carried with him a very big stick. Julius got right in his path fully believing that he would intimidate the foolish hero-wanna-be. He was wrong. Like a baseball bat, Xander swung and connected the stick to Julius' head. The terrorist staggered and fell to one knee.
Xander stopped in front of him. "This one's for Willow, you
son-of-a-bitch!"
Xander hit him again and the stick broke as Julius fell. Xander dropped the remains of the stick and ran past the terrorist. As he began to make the climb up the tower, Julius whipped out his knife and got to his feet. His face was red with rage as he began to give chase.
"Rueben!" Jhamel shouted. "Stop!!"
Julius did, but he was not happy with the order. He glared at Jhamel.
Jhamel approached him. "Let him get to the girl and when he brings her
down, you may hurt him." He held up a warning finger. "But we need them both alive."
Julius glared up at the tower.
On the precarious ledge, Willow's eyes were fixed on Xander. She still
couldn't make up her mind if this was a dream or if it was a twisted trick the terrorists were playing on her...or if it truly were Xander. Xander made it to the ledge and he grabbed her and pulled her close to him.
"X-Xander...?" Willow raised her bound hands to touch his face. Her eyes looked into his, her eyes looked at his mouth, his chin...his face. "Oh, p- please tell me...I-is it really you?"
Xander nodded his head as he held her to him. "Yes, Willow. It's really me." He looked into her eyes. "He didn't kill me. That blood was...it was probably blood from a rat or something, Will...But it wasn't mine."
"You-you're alive..." She put her head on his shoulder and cried.
He hugged her tight. "I won't let you go, Willow. I promise you...I will never let you go."
"XANDER!!" Jhamel shouted from below. "YOU WILL BRING HER DOWN NOW! OR WE WILL COME UP AND GET YOU BOTH!"
Xander glared down at the terrorists. Where else could they possibly go but down? They had no choice. They had to climb back down into the waiting hands of the enemy.
Suddenly, his eyes spotted something. Below, standing next to what appeared to be a boarded-up hole in the ground was a man. For some reason he couldn't explain, Xander knew that the man wasn't a terrorist. Actually, the man looked a lot like Christopher Walken...Xander frowned. Xander then noticed that there was a rope hanging above the boarded-up hole and that rope went all the way up to the top of the tower, hanging from a pulley.
Xander looked toward the hole again, but the man was no longer there.
"No way," he said to himself as a crazy idea struck him.
He looked down at the terrorists. "WE'RE COMING DOWN!" he shouted. Then he took Willow's face in his hands. "Willow...I'm taking you away from here...at least I hope this works. But no matter what we do in the next minute or so, you have to trust me."
She looked into his eyes. "I trust you, Xander. I-I'm okay...as long as I'm with you."
He took her arms and made her loop them around his head. He promised to untie them as soon as he could. "You just hang onto me," he told her.
She nodded.
"Willow..."
She looked at him. "W-what, Xander?"
He paused. "Trust me...you might want to close your eyes for this."
"Okay..." She closed her eyes.
Xander picked her up and then he leapt from the ledge. Below, the
terrorists watched in complete astonishment. Jhamel's mouth dropped open.
Xander grabbed the rope and like a rocket, he and Willow were falling fast. The fell through the boards that had covered the hole in the ground and they disappeared from sight.
Julius roared in anger. Then before anyone could stop him, he ran for the hole and dove in after Xander and Willow, his prey. He intended to make certain they never left that hole alive.
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TO BE CONTINUED....