TITLE:
THE PRIZE 4 AUTHOR: STEPHEN HOWE
E-MAIL:
sh01@bigpond.com.au
FEEDBACK:
Sure.
DISTRIBUTION:
Ask and ye shall receive!
DISCLAIMER:
All characters belong to Joss! He created everything! Rated R for violence and
adult themes. Set in season 6.B/X pairing Giles is Buffy's watcher who now
works for the Council once more. Anya gave her life to save Buffy in the fight
against Glory. Dawn is still here and Willow is with Tara. A HISTORY LESSON. Giles pulled the car over and Buffy forced
Frank out and into his home, the others followed as she pushed him into a
chair. " Now spill before we take you into the woods and let whatever it
is have you!" The look of pure panic passed over Franks
face and he turned white. " Okay!! I'll talk! I can tell you what I saw
and what I was told.... " *************
FLASHBACK************ Frank noticed the new Viper as it purred up to the pumps. He
whistled and stroked the bonnet as he walked up to the drivers side." Cool
ride man." Xander ran his hands over the steering wheel
and grinned. " You bet! It's the only thing I ever won in my whole life
and the only thing that would have made it complete was if my.. Is if Buffy
could have been with me." He mentally kicked himself for his correction.
All the times he wanted to call her his girlfriend and couldn't and now he was
pretty sure she was, he didn't want to jinx it by saying it out a loud."
Still I hope she'll come with me on my next trip." Xander pops the fuel cap and tells Frank to
fill it up. He gets out of the car and stretches, taking in the small township
and the seemingly friendly people." So.. Just how do I get back on the
interstate?" Frank
grins as he finishes filling up the car." Yeah I didn't think you were
here for the sights. We don't get many visitors around these parts since the
freeway was built." He points back the way Xander drove in and tells him."
Make a left at Dougherty then a right by the Museum and that should put you on Claremont.
Then follow that till you see the signs." Xander pays him and gets back in
the car. " Say is there any place decent to stay? I might wait till the
morning before I set off again." Frank tells him and Xander waives as he
drives off. He checks into the hotel Frank recommended, also the only one in
town, and as he signed in he noticed a man in a wheelchair being pushed up to
the single old fashioned elevator. He stared at the man mainly because he
stared at him; he noticed he looked a lot like the gas station attendant. Then
the man pushing him told him. " Don't worry James the Sheriff's gone for
her now he should be back soon and you'll feel much better." Xander
watched the elevator take them up then he took a walk to the only restaurant he
could find for dinner. As he sat down to his meal he found himself watching the
townsfolk walk by the window when he saw three men man handling a girl into the
hotel. His first impulse was to check it out but then realised this wasn't
Sunnydale and he didn't know what was what around here. Besides one of the men was,
what looked like the town Sheriff, so he figured what ever it was it had to be
legal. Just as he
started eating the apple cobbler he ordered for desert there was a flash of
light from the corner room of the hotel followed by an almost unheard, scream
of a woman. Xander dropped his spoon and looked around the room to see if any
one else had heard it but no one moved, they just went on like nothing
happened. He wiped his mouth with a napkin then paid his bill and raced over to
the hotel. As he arrived he was shocked to see the man called James walking out
of the hotel with the Sheriff and one of the other men. James glanced at him as
he passed Xander and smiled but all Xander could do was watch him walk down the
street. He then went into the hotel and made his way to the room he had seen
the glow coming from. He walked down the passageway and he heard
the sounds of a woman crying followed by. " Shut up bitch before I give
you something to cry about! " Xander pushed at the slightly ajar door and
saw the man clip the girls legs into the wheel chair." James really
appreciates what you did for him and I'm sure given time you'll get used to
being a cripple." Now Xander had a better look he could see the girl was a
Native American and no older than Dawn but what he saw next sickened him to his
stomach. The
man's hand had brushed against her breast as he tried to force her into the
char and he suddenly stopped and leered at her chest then looked into her eyes.
" Well it looks like you've growed up some since I last saw you." She
whimpered as he let his hands roam across her body. " Yeah all grown up and ready for market. " He glances
at the bed then licks his lips before unclipping her legs and pulling her out
of the chair." We shouldn't let you spend the rest of your life not
knowing the joys of being a woman now should we?" Xander saw red and charged into the room,
knocking the man on his ass. He then kicks the mans head with his boot."
Get up you son of a bitch and I'll knock you back to the 17th century!"
Xander made sure the man wouldn't jump back up then helped the girl into the
chair." Look are you all right? Cuz I could have sworn I saw you walk in
here." The girl nods and whimpers. " My name is Monashtai but my friends call me Pony."
She looks over at the man and lets out a sob." You shouldn't have got involved!
Now they will hunt you down because you have seen." Xander smiles. " Hey trouble is my
middle name... Well actually it's Lavelle but I kinda prefer it if you didn't
spread that around." He begins to push her out of the room but hears the
man struggle to get up. " Stay here this shouldn't take long." He
tells her then walks over to her assailant." You know I always thought
Demons were the worst scum on earth but, thanks to you, I know something
worse." He struck the man with all the force and anger he had and was
amazed to see him fly across the room and through the bathroom door coming to
rest against the toilet seat. He looked at his knuckles and said. " Wow! I
guess six years fighting demons paid off at last." He went outside and began to push the girl
to the elevator. When it arrived downstairs he calmly walked her out side then
ran as fast as he could pushing her all the way till he figured they were out
of sight. " Now where can I take you and do they have a doctor?" She
shakes her head." I will be fine in a few days; I always am, but you.. You
must get out of town before they discover I'm gone!" Xander shakes his head. " You mean
they've done this before? " She nods." Right! Where's your home? Once
I've taken you there I'll go fetch the Feds and they can introduce these Cro-Magnon
freaks to 21st Century justice." She smiles. " I live on the reservation
and they come for my people whenever they need somebody cured." She points
east and tells him. " It's about twenty miles that way." Xander pats
his pocket and feels his keys then tells her. " If I lift you up will you
be okay?" She grins and holds her arms out, wrapping them around his neck
as he lifts her up. " My car's around the corner I'll get you home then
I'll keep my promise." SHAMASH RESERVATION. The old man grips Xander's arm and
shakes it. " I wish to thank you for what you have done for Pony but this
will mean much trouble for you." Xander grins." Don't worry Chief I'm
used to trouble. Now just what the hell's going on here?" The chief motions for Xander to sit down."
135 years ago white men passing through here on their way to dig for yellow
metal in California saw one of our people cure a hunter that was injured in a
hunt." The Chief held up his arms to the sky. " They were told by our
shaman that we were guided by the sky stone to this place and since then it has
given us the power to take on someone's injury, relieving them of the injury. And
after a while we too were free of it and of all other disease including death. But
the white men took the stone and now they make us do whatever they want and we
have no choice but to do it." The chief was amazed that Xander
didn't ridicule him." Huh you look like you believe me?" Xander shrugged." Why not? Where I come
from this would be considered as normal." He picked the cell phone from
his pocket and dialled Giles." I have some friends that can help." He
holds his hand over the phone. " So do you know where they keep this
stone?" The chief nods. " In a safe in the Museum but they have it guarded
and it will be hard to get it back. We have tried ever since they took it."
Xander grinned as the number connected. " I'm in construction
and I have... Some knowledge of explosives.." He removed his hand. "
Hello Giles? Yeah it's me Xander look I'm in a small town near Kalmash falls
and there are some people that really need our help."....... END OF 4
