THANKS to my betas Kate, NMissi, Miss Binks and MARCEE
***
Spike jumped off the stone sarcophagus and pushed the lid open.
"Quickly, get inside."
"No!" Tara said.
"Willow will fry me if something happens to you! Hop in!"
"No!" she insisted. "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it together."
Spike frowned, but it was too late anyway, because the crypt door crashed open. A group of young men noisily barged down the stairs and into the crypt. Six of them, to be precise. Two were waving flashlights around; two clutched crosses and a guy with glasses carried a large water gun. They were all equipped with stakes. One carried an expensive looking video camera on his shoulder, his stake tucked into his belt. An electric torch was taped to the camera, its light beam wandering uncertainly through the crypt.
*Oh, bugger! A staking party! Just what I need!*
When the intruders realized that the crypt was lit and that there were two people standing in it, the young men halted, momentarily confused. Keeping their crosses or stakes raised in front of them they looked around and at each other, unsure what to do next. They took in the furniture, the television and VCR, the shopping bags, the sandwich wrappers and crumbs and suddenly looked sheepish, no longer convinced that the mission that had brought them here was such a good idea.
*Just be cool, they don't know you can't hurt them.*
"Now, who might you be? I can't remember inviting you in." Spike said, trying to keep his tone somewhere between casual and friendly, but coming across as condescending. He flicked cigarette ash on the floor and cocked his head to one side. "If you want to throw a party, find yourself another crypt. This one's already taken. And please close the door on your way out, will you?"
*Too bad I can't turn people into obedient little bug eaters like old Vlad can. That would really come in handy, now.*
A tall blond guy in a blue UC Sunnydale sweatshirt, who had the powerful build of an athlete, turned off his flashlight. He and the others turned to look at the young man who carried the camera. This was obviously their leader. Slim, dark-haired, dark eyes, pretty, the kind of guy who always gets the girls. He also seemed to be the oldest of the bunch, a senior, while the others had that certain first-year aroma about them.
Spike was surprised to notice that he took an instant dislike to that senior. He also had the strange feeling that he had seen his face before, possibly at some party on campus. He took a closer look and noticed his T-shirt had Greek letters on it. *So this is what Greek life looks like in Sunny D. Bloody Americans! Can't they just go and get legless on large quantities of beer, like any decent self-respecting student should?*
"Jason?" the senior student asked, glancing at one of his friends, a wiry fellow, who despite his youth looked a bit like a lawyer.
"Dunno, brother." Jason answered. He peered into a little mirror angling it so he could see Tara's reflection. "She's human, I mean, she's alive. But he's the real McCoy, no reflection."
"Hey cool, like in the movies!" an expensively dressed nerdy looking boy remarked to no one in particular.
"Shouldn't he, like, sleep in his coffin, at this time of day?" one of them asked, his voice whiney. Spike thought he looked like a boy band reject, too pretty for his own good.
"Who's she?" the blond guy asked, waving a stake in Tara's general direction.
She moved closer to Spike. "I... I think you should leave." She said calmly. Spike could hear her heart racing nervously, though.
The dark-haired fellow shrugged. "He probably lured her here for the kill."
Hearing the young man speak Spike suddenly realized who he was dealing with. *Parker. That's his name! Also known as Mr. One-Night-Stand. I knew I'd seen him before.* He also recalled the circumstances under which he had met him. Parker had been Buffy's date at some fraternity house party. He had also shagged the Slayer that night and dumped her for good, afterwards. At the time Spike had taunted the girl about her dead end love life. Now he felt quite different about the whole thing.
"Hey Parker, why don't you take her advice. Take your friends and get out of here."
Parker frowned but decided to ignore the vampire. "Listen, girl," he said to Tara, lowering the camera for a moment. "This may be hard to believe, but blondie over there is a vampire, and he'll kill you given half a chance."
"I know what he is." Tara replied. "Don't worry, I am not in danger. Just go, and no one gets hurt."
"Perhaps she's under his thrill." The band reject suggested.
"The word is thrall, you moron. And no, she isn't" Spike said and vamped out. He flicked his cigarette butt across the room and gave them a toothy smile. "You heard the lady. Get lost! Before I forget myself and bash yer brains in!"
He noted with satisfaction how the young men involuntarily took a step backwards. Jason, the lawyer-look-alike, looked as if he was about to faint. Only the athlete seemed all the more determined. He clutched his stake and glared at Spike with single-minded intensity.
*Thick as a plank, that one. No sense of self-preservation. It's a wonder he ever managed to live to the age of twenty-something without being eaten by one of Sunnydale's nasties.*
"Mark? Grab the girl. If she gives you any trouble, tie her up. Once we've turned Blondie into a pile of dust she'll come to her senses." Parker decided. "Ricky, Butch and Jason .... stake him! Gary? Shoot him!"
The nerd nodded, taking a first tentative step towards Tara. The one called Gary readied his water gun. The other students hesitated.
"Enough of this." Parker snapped. " Are you men or mice? You want to become full-fledged brothers? Then take him!"
Spurred into action by Parker's words the students went for them. Except for Parker, of course, who was busy filming the whole brawl.
As Gary fired his gun at Spike, Tara threw herself at him, more or less effectively shielding the vampire from the jet of water. Even so, a few drops of Holy Water hit Spike's bare skin where they began to sizzle and smoke, as they burnt into his undead flesh. He flinched in pain. While the witch struggled with the surprised student, trying to disarm him, the other three came after Spike.
The first attack was easily sidestepped. He didn't even have to touch the boy group reject to make him crash into the wall of the crypt. His own momentum was enough. But Spike knew he wouldn't be able to take his opponents out with defensive moves alone. Sooner or later the chip would kick in and render him unable to fight.
Suddenly there was a loud cracking sound and a howl. Spike quickly glanced towards Tara and saw that her casted hand had just connected with Gary's head, knocking his glasses to the floor. Blood gushed out of the student's nose, staining the white plaster-of-Paris. "Ow, the bitch broke my nose!" the young man yelped. He dropped his water gun and knelt down groping for his glasses. He wiped his nose on the sleeve of his Dodger's jersey.
Spike turned his attention back to his own opponents, just in time to duck a blow. He blocked a swing, ducked another clumsy blow and disarmed the one called Jason by simply snatching the stake out of his hand and snapping it into several small pieces. The surprised look on the guys face was priceless.
When the blond one rushed him Spike was prepared for it, trying another feint in the hope of having him, too, collide with the wall. He was, however, not prepared for the young man's speed and agility. Also, this assailant wasn't fooled by Spike's maneuver. He changed direction in mid-stride and took the vampire into a beautifully executed tackle. *Oh no, not a football player!*
Spike was slammed backwards against the stone sarcophagus, which hurt quite a bit, but not as much as the excruciating pain that seared through his brain when he brought down his fists on the unprotected back of his assailant. He dimly felt something breaking underneath his fists, probably a rib or two.
The young man howled in pain. But he never loosened his iron grip around the vampire's waist. Spike, too, howled and clutched his head with both hands. The sheer blinding agony rendered him momentarily helpless. He felt another body crashing into him with enough force to knock all three of them down. Spike grabbed the new attacker's head by the hair and although the chip almost instantly punished him with another stab of pain, he managed to shove the lawyer guy head first against the stone coffin.
He couldn't see whether he had actually succeeded in knocking his opponent out because he was momentarily nauseated and his vision was blurred. On the migraine Richter his current headache had surely just gone off the scale. *One more zap and I'm going to vomit!* He thought he heard someone singing, but maybe that was just his brain reverberating from the pain.
Meanwhile the blond boy, the one Parker had called Butch, still held on to him, despite his injury. His determination would have impressed Spike under different circumstances, but right now it was life threatening.
Yet, while the demon within him raged, eager to rip the boy's arms out of their sockets and to drink his hot blood, another part of Spike couldn't bring himself to finish this brave stupid fool off for good.
Spike struggled, trying to wriggle out of the boy's grip without setting the chip off again. Another student joined the scuffle and now they had him pinned. Finally, here it was, the fight he couldn't win. Butch and boy band reject Ricky looked at him in triumph. Butch brandished a nicely carved stake.
"This" he said, "is for my sister. One of you bloodsuckers killed her on her Graduation day. This is for Harmony!"
And the stake came down on the vampire's chest.
(to be continued)
***
Spike jumped off the stone sarcophagus and pushed the lid open.
"Quickly, get inside."
"No!" Tara said.
"Willow will fry me if something happens to you! Hop in!"
"No!" she insisted. "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it together."
Spike frowned, but it was too late anyway, because the crypt door crashed open. A group of young men noisily barged down the stairs and into the crypt. Six of them, to be precise. Two were waving flashlights around; two clutched crosses and a guy with glasses carried a large water gun. They were all equipped with stakes. One carried an expensive looking video camera on his shoulder, his stake tucked into his belt. An electric torch was taped to the camera, its light beam wandering uncertainly through the crypt.
*Oh, bugger! A staking party! Just what I need!*
When the intruders realized that the crypt was lit and that there were two people standing in it, the young men halted, momentarily confused. Keeping their crosses or stakes raised in front of them they looked around and at each other, unsure what to do next. They took in the furniture, the television and VCR, the shopping bags, the sandwich wrappers and crumbs and suddenly looked sheepish, no longer convinced that the mission that had brought them here was such a good idea.
*Just be cool, they don't know you can't hurt them.*
"Now, who might you be? I can't remember inviting you in." Spike said, trying to keep his tone somewhere between casual and friendly, but coming across as condescending. He flicked cigarette ash on the floor and cocked his head to one side. "If you want to throw a party, find yourself another crypt. This one's already taken. And please close the door on your way out, will you?"
*Too bad I can't turn people into obedient little bug eaters like old Vlad can. That would really come in handy, now.*
A tall blond guy in a blue UC Sunnydale sweatshirt, who had the powerful build of an athlete, turned off his flashlight. He and the others turned to look at the young man who carried the camera. This was obviously their leader. Slim, dark-haired, dark eyes, pretty, the kind of guy who always gets the girls. He also seemed to be the oldest of the bunch, a senior, while the others had that certain first-year aroma about them.
Spike was surprised to notice that he took an instant dislike to that senior. He also had the strange feeling that he had seen his face before, possibly at some party on campus. He took a closer look and noticed his T-shirt had Greek letters on it. *So this is what Greek life looks like in Sunny D. Bloody Americans! Can't they just go and get legless on large quantities of beer, like any decent self-respecting student should?*
"Jason?" the senior student asked, glancing at one of his friends, a wiry fellow, who despite his youth looked a bit like a lawyer.
"Dunno, brother." Jason answered. He peered into a little mirror angling it so he could see Tara's reflection. "She's human, I mean, she's alive. But he's the real McCoy, no reflection."
"Hey cool, like in the movies!" an expensively dressed nerdy looking boy remarked to no one in particular.
"Shouldn't he, like, sleep in his coffin, at this time of day?" one of them asked, his voice whiney. Spike thought he looked like a boy band reject, too pretty for his own good.
"Who's she?" the blond guy asked, waving a stake in Tara's general direction.
She moved closer to Spike. "I... I think you should leave." She said calmly. Spike could hear her heart racing nervously, though.
The dark-haired fellow shrugged. "He probably lured her here for the kill."
Hearing the young man speak Spike suddenly realized who he was dealing with. *Parker. That's his name! Also known as Mr. One-Night-Stand. I knew I'd seen him before.* He also recalled the circumstances under which he had met him. Parker had been Buffy's date at some fraternity house party. He had also shagged the Slayer that night and dumped her for good, afterwards. At the time Spike had taunted the girl about her dead end love life. Now he felt quite different about the whole thing.
"Hey Parker, why don't you take her advice. Take your friends and get out of here."
Parker frowned but decided to ignore the vampire. "Listen, girl," he said to Tara, lowering the camera for a moment. "This may be hard to believe, but blondie over there is a vampire, and he'll kill you given half a chance."
"I know what he is." Tara replied. "Don't worry, I am not in danger. Just go, and no one gets hurt."
"Perhaps she's under his thrill." The band reject suggested.
"The word is thrall, you moron. And no, she isn't" Spike said and vamped out. He flicked his cigarette butt across the room and gave them a toothy smile. "You heard the lady. Get lost! Before I forget myself and bash yer brains in!"
He noted with satisfaction how the young men involuntarily took a step backwards. Jason, the lawyer-look-alike, looked as if he was about to faint. Only the athlete seemed all the more determined. He clutched his stake and glared at Spike with single-minded intensity.
*Thick as a plank, that one. No sense of self-preservation. It's a wonder he ever managed to live to the age of twenty-something without being eaten by one of Sunnydale's nasties.*
"Mark? Grab the girl. If she gives you any trouble, tie her up. Once we've turned Blondie into a pile of dust she'll come to her senses." Parker decided. "Ricky, Butch and Jason .... stake him! Gary? Shoot him!"
The nerd nodded, taking a first tentative step towards Tara. The one called Gary readied his water gun. The other students hesitated.
"Enough of this." Parker snapped. " Are you men or mice? You want to become full-fledged brothers? Then take him!"
Spurred into action by Parker's words the students went for them. Except for Parker, of course, who was busy filming the whole brawl.
As Gary fired his gun at Spike, Tara threw herself at him, more or less effectively shielding the vampire from the jet of water. Even so, a few drops of Holy Water hit Spike's bare skin where they began to sizzle and smoke, as they burnt into his undead flesh. He flinched in pain. While the witch struggled with the surprised student, trying to disarm him, the other three came after Spike.
The first attack was easily sidestepped. He didn't even have to touch the boy group reject to make him crash into the wall of the crypt. His own momentum was enough. But Spike knew he wouldn't be able to take his opponents out with defensive moves alone. Sooner or later the chip would kick in and render him unable to fight.
Suddenly there was a loud cracking sound and a howl. Spike quickly glanced towards Tara and saw that her casted hand had just connected with Gary's head, knocking his glasses to the floor. Blood gushed out of the student's nose, staining the white plaster-of-Paris. "Ow, the bitch broke my nose!" the young man yelped. He dropped his water gun and knelt down groping for his glasses. He wiped his nose on the sleeve of his Dodger's jersey.
Spike turned his attention back to his own opponents, just in time to duck a blow. He blocked a swing, ducked another clumsy blow and disarmed the one called Jason by simply snatching the stake out of his hand and snapping it into several small pieces. The surprised look on the guys face was priceless.
When the blond one rushed him Spike was prepared for it, trying another feint in the hope of having him, too, collide with the wall. He was, however, not prepared for the young man's speed and agility. Also, this assailant wasn't fooled by Spike's maneuver. He changed direction in mid-stride and took the vampire into a beautifully executed tackle. *Oh no, not a football player!*
Spike was slammed backwards against the stone sarcophagus, which hurt quite a bit, but not as much as the excruciating pain that seared through his brain when he brought down his fists on the unprotected back of his assailant. He dimly felt something breaking underneath his fists, probably a rib or two.
The young man howled in pain. But he never loosened his iron grip around the vampire's waist. Spike, too, howled and clutched his head with both hands. The sheer blinding agony rendered him momentarily helpless. He felt another body crashing into him with enough force to knock all three of them down. Spike grabbed the new attacker's head by the hair and although the chip almost instantly punished him with another stab of pain, he managed to shove the lawyer guy head first against the stone coffin.
He couldn't see whether he had actually succeeded in knocking his opponent out because he was momentarily nauseated and his vision was blurred. On the migraine Richter his current headache had surely just gone off the scale. *One more zap and I'm going to vomit!* He thought he heard someone singing, but maybe that was just his brain reverberating from the pain.
Meanwhile the blond boy, the one Parker had called Butch, still held on to him, despite his injury. His determination would have impressed Spike under different circumstances, but right now it was life threatening.
Yet, while the demon within him raged, eager to rip the boy's arms out of their sockets and to drink his hot blood, another part of Spike couldn't bring himself to finish this brave stupid fool off for good.
Spike struggled, trying to wriggle out of the boy's grip without setting the chip off again. Another student joined the scuffle and now they had him pinned. Finally, here it was, the fight he couldn't win. Butch and boy band reject Ricky looked at him in triumph. Butch brandished a nicely carved stake.
"This" he said, "is for my sister. One of you bloodsuckers killed her on her Graduation day. This is for Harmony!"
And the stake came down on the vampire's chest.
(to be continued)