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I charged to the cemetary stakes in hand, but I quickly lost them after passing by a few mausoleums. I slowed and listened for anything: breathing, a snapped twig, or... talking. There. I headed towards the direction of Jesse's voice, and realized he may actually keep himself alive by having the tendency to not know when to stop talking. Of course, Willow would have had him beat...
I narrowed the sound down to one mausoleum, so I rechecked my weapons and the area. I switched the left stake for the water gun, which was hid nicely in my palm, and made sure I had a cross stake in my right. The area around appeared clear of vamps. Looks like I might have a clear escape route, I thought before heading inside.
Within I found the blonde shoving Jesse into a corner. A glance at him showed his hand clasped to his neck and blood running between his fingers. I tried to maneuver my way as close behind the girl as I could before she could notice. No good, of course.
The girl turned grinning. "Come to join us?"
"Nope," I said before throwing up my cross between us.
Her face shifted to the familiar hated visage of the undead as she turned and cowered back away from the cross.
"Run Jesse! Get outta here!" I shouted and moved between the vamp and Jess.
"What?"
Great, blood loss makes people a bit slow. "RUN!!"
And finally he did with barely a glance back at us. Which left me alone with a no longer cowering vamp that seemed a bit ticked to have lost her meal. Oh, Goody.
"Who do you think you are?" she growled.
"The tooth fairy. You have some teeth that need to come out."
"You should know better than to take on your elders, boy. I've killed those better than you for centuries."
"Really, I guess that explains the bags and wrinkles," I replied smirking.
With a snarl, she leaped at me batting aside the cross and reaching for my neck. Too bad that was what I wanted. I dropped and rolled to the side. Quickly, turning I swiped the cross at the face that turned towards me. The sound of undead flesh searing greeted my ears as I moved the cross stake for the final blow to the heart...
Which should have worked if I wasn't flying towards the other side of the room. I slammed into the wall and slid down groaning. Dizzy, I glanced up to see what caused my sudden superman act and saw a huge vampire looking at me. Damn, I thought, and I lost my stake.
"Go, Darla, get your offering back for the Master. We need to be prepared for the Harvest. I'll deal with this child," the ogre said to the female.
"But Luke, I want him. I owe him for this!" Darla said pointing at the cross-shaped burn on her face.
"Go!" And she went. Smart move too, I wouldn't want this guy pissed at me either.
He strode over to me as I scrambled up on my feet and said, "You have no idea what you are dealing with."
"Gee, I generally think the same just before any test."
We scrambled around the stone coffin placed in the center of the room. Well I scrambled and he just walked like a cat who decided to toy with the mouse it had cornered. Three guesses as to who the mouse for the night was.
"Look, buddy, why don't we call tonight a draw? I mean we can always finish this another time and I'm already late getting home," I finished as I stopped with the coffin keeping the shortest distance between us.
All I got in response was a growl before he pushed the stone lid off the top and nearly onto me.
"Or you could try to just flaten me instead," I said before charging for the entrance reaching in my jacket for one of my extra cross stakes. As I grasped it, I whirled drawing it out and shoving it at Luke. Unluckily, he pulled up short and backed up towards the open coffin.
"You would make a fine warrior for the Master. Join us and welcome in a new era of hell on earth."
My cross slowly started to lower and head bowed forward. He grinned as he moved forward...
"Gotcha!" I said spraying his face with the water gun. He stumbled back screeching and I planted a kick to his chest sending him into the coffin. I was going to move to finish him when I heard a girl scream.
"Catch ya another time, fangly," I shot at him as I tore out of there heading off in the direction of the scream.
It took me a few moments to locate the area the scream came from, but when I got there I found a group of seven vamps attacking Willow, Oz, someone else. Willow was on the ground holding her head but seemed okay otherwise. The other person was holding their own against three vamps and looked like they might win. Oz, however, wasn't so lucky. I spotted the other four dragging his body away. Seemed Oz was first on my list for help.
I charged after them and one vampire headed back to intercept me.
"Move it, deadboy!" I shouted before emptying my watergun in his face. I tossed the gun aside as I ran past the groaning vamp. Closing quickly on the two guys carrying Oz, I pulled out another stake for my other hand and flipped them for a forward strike. Three meters, two, one... and I leapt at them on stake aimed at each back. My left one aimed true dusting him, but the other vampire dropped Oz early and dodged to the side. I flew over Oz and hit the ground rolling. Right in front of the vampire which was leading the group. This one stared dumbfounded as I extended my right hand impaling his heart on my stake. I rolled to my left and away from the remaining deadhead before standing to face him.
He glared at me and growled out, "Puny human, you'll die for that!"
I smirked. "Come get some."
He charged and threw a right cross intended to take my head off. I ducked and stepped in shoving my cross stake into his face. He flinched away and I used my right arm to scissor-lock his before I threw my left hand at the elbow, snapping it. The vamp screamed out as I released his arm. I quickly spun around swinging my stake for his back. Pop! Stake, heart, dust.
I headed over to finish the one I doused with holy water and came face to face with Faith. A very surprised Faith.
"Wha... How... Who the hell are you?!" she sputtered.
At least I wasn't the tongue-tied one this time.
I glanced down at Oz who was groaning and trying to sit up. "Could you help me with him?"
She stared at me for a second more before putting away her stake and moving over to help.
"OZ!"
A quick look up confirmed Willow charging towards us with panic in her eyes. Both me and Faith were barely out of the way before she practically tackled Oz.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Can you stand?" she babbled out while Oz murmured that he would be fine.
I looked over at Faith before asking, "Where is Jesse?"
"Who?"
Willow glanced up with wide frightened eyes. "What about Jesse?"
"You didn't see him?" A chorus of no's followed. "We can't do anything now but hope he made it home."
"What do you mean? Was Jesse out here?" Willow questioned.
I ignored her questions for the moment and turned to Faith. "Let's get them somewhere safe before any explanations."
"Fine, we need to head to the school then so we can get these two and you bandaged up."
"Me? I'm fine."
"Tell that to the blood leaking from your head."
Raising my hand I felt the gash on the side of my head and the blood running from it. Damn, I hate it when I miss little things like head trauma.
"Fine. And let's hurry so I don't leave a blood trail for any stragglers to follow me home."
Both of us shouldered Oz, and headed out of the cemetary with Willow trailing behind us in a daze.
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