"Elisa?" Xander called out. It was quiet tonight, but Xander knew the quiet was deceiving. Ever since he met Buffy, he had met many of the undesirables who take cover in the shadows. He had seen things that nightmares are made of. His own nightmares had come true on more than one occasion. But they weren't make believe. They weren't only dreams, just imaginations run wild. They were real. And they were out there.
Xander felt the reassuring solidity of the stake in his pocket as he scanned his surroundings. He was near an abandoned warehouse on the far side of town. Definitely not a place he wanted to be. "Where is she?" he muttered.
In response, Xander heard the unmistakable sound of a fight breaking out in a nearby alley. He ran towards the sound. Rounding the corner, Xander saw Elisa struggling with a tall, dark male. "Vampire," he thought. "Who else in their right mind would be out here at this time of night?"
Elisa had abandoned the sling, but was favoring her left arm. She punched the vamp with her right fist and swung around with a swift kick to his chest. The vamp quickly retaliated with a few punches of his own. Elisa avoided a roundhouse kick the vamp offered. She crouched down, shot out her leg, and swept it along the ground, knocking the vampire flat on his back. Before the creature could get up, Xander was on him, plunging his stake into its unbeating heart. With a shout, the vampire turned to dust.
"Ow!" Elisa exclaimed from behind. Xander got up and dusted himself off.
"You ok?" he asked the girl quietly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Arm's a bit tender," she replied.
"That's not what I was talking about," Xander said. "But it's good that your arm is better."
"Oh."
"Come on, let's get out of here," Xander urged the girl to move. "Hungry?"
"Yes, actually, I am," Elisa replied. She was amazed at how hungry she really was. It felt like she hadn't eaten in weeks.
Xander grinned and rubbed his hands together at the prospect of food. "Come on, I know of just the place. It's this little café just outside of town. But we need to get my car first."
"Car?" Elisa looked puzzled.
"Yes, my car," Xander looked at her. "El auto?" Then he remembered that they probably didn't have cars a hundred years ago. It was like being with Ampata all over again. Or a Halloween Buffy. Xander chuckled at the memory of Buffy's terrified screams when she had seen the vehicle.
"A car is like a horse and carriage," he explained to the confused girl. "Only without the horse."
"Oh," came her reply. Then a few seconds later, "Huh?"