AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is set in Walsall, England for those who are interested. Many of you won't be, and will have no idea where Walsall is. Good. Please review.

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CHAPTER 2

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Positions available for watcher and guardian angel: Apply within.

            'So you beheaded them both?' Nazia appeared unconvinced.

'Yeah and then I turned round and saw this vampire blokey beating up Vicki so I beheaded him too. Clean off.' Dippy enthused. Vicki and Sam smiled, very much amused, at Dippy's account of events.

The four girls came to a halt at the entrance of the small teacher's car park that was devoid of cars when it was usually full.

'I don't think we'll have much more trouble tonight. I better be off.' Nazia spoke up. Sam nodded in silent agreement.

'Me too. See you tomorrow.' Nazia and Sam turned away from the other two girls and headed off in the opposite direction to the main entrance, leaving the blonde and her dark haired friend standing alone in the dimly lit car park.

'You going to?' enquired Dippy. As she had expected, Vicki shook her head.

'Not just yet. I need to check everything is alright first.'

'Me too.' The girls smiled understandingly at one another. Dippy walked off in the direction of the main school building, while Vicki turned and wandered towards the sixth form block.

She looked up at the building, which had recently been renovated and resembled some sort of silver space rocket. Her keen eyes scanned the windows. She was about to walk away when she thought she saw a slight movement on the staircase.

She ran towards the block, fumbling in her pocket for the swipe card she needed too get in. Vicki got to the door, groaning as she realised that the damn thing was in her locker, back in main school.

'Oh well, here goes.' She stepped back and launched herself at the door. It gave slightly, but did not open. She cursed under her breath whilst rubbing her shoulder, which still shuddered with pain from the impact and stepped back once more. She took a short run and kicked the door. It swung open, bashing into the wall violently.

Vicki ran in and clambered eagerly up the stairs, two at a time. After what seemed like miles, she got to the second floor and pushed open the door, peering round. On seeing no one, she proceeded into the corridor, shutting the door carefully and quietly behind her.

She prowled around, searching for signs of movement, looking into each room as she passed. All seemed empty and quiet.

'Hi Vicki!' In surprise, Vicki took a sharp intake of breath and spun round to face the voice. She rolled her eyes skywards. Oh god…

'Hello Naomi. What are you doing here?' Naomi smiled.

'Could ask you the same thing.'

'Studying…' Vicki mumbled.

'At this time?' Naomi snarled, 'Nuh-uh. I think we both know why you're here.' Vicki raised an eyebrow in question.

'Oh yes?' Naomi began to laugh loudly and Vicki cringed, the sound resembling a donkey's bray. She looked at Naomi in time to see the girl's face transform into an unrecognisable distortion. Where there had been smooth skin it became a mass of small ridges, her soft features becoming hard and angular.

'Yeah,' she hissed. Suddenly and without warning, she leapt at Vicki, her long, sharp red enamelled nails scratching at Vicki's face.

Vicki screamed in surprise as she fell to the ground, trying to defend herself against her attacker. She kicked at Naomi, but the girl rolled out of her way. Vicki cried out in pain as her foot was snapped backwards at an unnatural angle.

She tried to get up, but each time her ankle would give way, sending Vicki sprawling back onto the floor. She grimaced in pain, while Naomi looked on, laughing delightedly.

Naomi stood over Vicki, glaring down at her. She leant down beside her.

'Now for some blood,' she giggled.

'You always were stealing other people's food…' commented Vicki.

'Really? How do you fancy a knuckle sandwich then?' came a male voice, seemingly out of nowhere. Naomi spun around on her heels, coming face to face with a tall, pale, fair-haired man.

Vicki watched as Naomi launched herself at the man, nails extended, eyes bulging. With a quick movement of his arm, he interrupted the vampire's short flight, sending her banging into the nearby door. He took a stake of wood from his pocket and thrust it deep into her chest.

The shocked looking Naomi's whimpers became a long, painfully high-pitched scream. Vicki watched on in amazement as the vampire's skin vanished leaving bones that crumbled into a pile of greyish dust, which in turn disintegrated further until there was nothing left but a memory of what had just occurred.

'Who are you?' she whispered. The stranger bowed and held out a hand.

'Spike at your service ma'am.'

*****

She swirled round, feeling increasingly paranoid. Dippy frowned on seeing nothing, and carried on going down the small flight of stairs.

'Where to next?' she pondered silently. She entered the small corridor that lead to the English rooms as well as the newly furbished IT room. Dippy noticed that the door was open, and a whitish light could be seen inside. Not wanting to have a confrontation with Mr Jebb over her printing credits and blatant misuse of the school's Internet facilities, Dippy began to sneak towards the flight of stairs that led to the Art rooms.

There was a crash as her appearance surprised the new Information Technology teacher, Mr McPherson. He looked up at her, grunted and bent down to pick up the books he'd dropped. He placed the books on the nearby stairs.

'Amandeep! What on earth are you doing here? You know, I'd like to hope it was due to some IT coursework that you're here, but I'd be wrong. Am I right?' he questioned her.

'Yup, you're right sir. But don't worry. One of these days I'll hand in some of my coursework. One of these days.' Amandeep grinned. Mr McPherson sighed.

'Ok then. Now we've got that sorted out, would you please tell me the truth as to why you're here late at night?'

'If I told you the truth you wouldn't believe me,' she responded, in complete honesty.

Mr McPherson, or Mack to the rest of the school staff, frowned. Now what was he supposed to do? In all his years of Watcher training, he had never been instructed on finding out who exactly his Slayer would be. He had assumed, incorrectly of course, that when he passed all the 'exams' set by the Watcher's Council, they'd put a teenage girl in front of him and tell him to instruct her in the ways of the Slayer. But the truth of it was the Council had no idea as to who the current Slayer was.

The Council had basically gone to pot when they'd called a one Elizabeth 'Buffy' Anne Summers to be the Slayer. She'd broken the rules left, right and centre and then went and 'died' on them. But she hadn't though.  The Council, thinking she was dead, which they were right in thinking, went on and called another Slayer, Kendra, to take Buffy's place. However this Buffy seemed to be made of hard stuff and promptly came back from the dead, so then there were two Slayers. Which wasn't good. But this was remedied when Kendra was slain by Drusilla, a notorious vampire with a huge 'family' background that Mack didn't want to even think about right now.

Nevertheless, an uncontrollable chain of events had been unleashed, and since Kendra had died, ANOTHER Slayer was called. Who was a bigger problem to the Council than Buffy ever had been. This one's name was Faith. And she had been a bit 'not all there'. She had gone on an evil rampage and was finally stopped by Buffy, who put her into a coma. Thankfully. With Faith incapacitated, the Council decided to let Buffy continue to be the Slayer as before. But more problems, which frankly had made Mack's head hurt when he'd first read about them, and still did, had occurred.

The Council didn't have many details, but those they did chilled every heart in the association. At that time, something went wrong. To be exact, Buffy went wrong. Nobody knew how or why, but she became more and more like the creatures she had been called to destroy. In the end, she had become so evil, so malevolent that the Council had decided that she had to be destroyed. And that's where the Council's files ended. There was nothing after that, nada, zilch, zip.

When the Council had finally got something, they found out that Buffy had already been destroyed. But no one seemed to know how. At the time, all the Council had cared about was that she'd been killed. But there had been lingering reports on how an 'angelic' being had come and slayed the Slayer. The Council knew better than to listen to these 'reports'. All they wanted to do now was find the new Slayer. And fast. And now, here he was, looking for his protégé-to-be.

History lesson over in his mind, Mack stared at the girl in front of him. Was this bolshy, acid tongued teenager the next in line to being the Slayer? He certainly hoped to God she wasn't. Mack didn't think he'd be able to handle her if she was. Amandeep was very much like what Buffy had once been, he thought. If you could put the two together, he was pretty sure Amandeep would win hands down in any slanging match. In ANY match. But he had to know though.

'Come on. It can't be that bad surely? Go on, try me.'

Dippy looked at her teacher closely. He seemed a little shifty to her. Was he a vampire? Dippy had no idea, since she didn't have the ability that Vicki naturally had to guess who was a vampire and who wasn't. But she had to know.

'Slaying vampires actually.' Mr McPherson nodded rather quickly, and then realising what he was doing, tried to play it cool by picking up the top book on the pile he had set down, and beginning to flick through it casually.

'Vampires eh? And you would be 'slaying vampires' because…' he prompted her.

'…because they need to be slayed. Look,' she said angrily, 'I know you don't believe me but I'm telling the truth. I knew you wouldn't believe me.'

'On the contrary Amandeep, I do believe you. I do because I'm your new Watcher.' Dippy looked at the teacher in pure disbelief. She walked towards him and plonked down onto the stairs next to his books.

'Don't look like that,' Mack said, sitting down next to her and pulling another book from the pile. He handed it over to Dippy.

'Vampires.' he stated as if quoting off by heart, 'The legend of the vampire has existed, in one form or another, as long as there have been legends. Often thought of as a creature of folklore which rises from the grave by night and sucks the blood of innocent humans.' Dippy nodded slowly.

'Only in this case they're not just folklore, they're real,' she finished. Mr McPherson raised his hand, as if to stop her from talking.

'Wait.' he spoke, 'There's more.'

'More? Oh I can hardly wait(!)'

Mack frowned. 'Yes well… So. As long as there are vampires, there has been the Slayer. More precisely 'a' Slayer, for each time a Slayer dies, a new one is ready and waiting to take her place, with a Watcher prepared to instruct and guide the new Slayer in her role as the scourge of Darkness. YOU are that Slayer, and I am your Watcher.'

'Er… correction. You may be a Watcher, but I am NOT the Slayer.' Dippy replied rather hotly. Mr McPherson pulled a face.

'But if you're not the Slayer then who is? And why do you know about vampires? You're not a vampire are you?'

Dippy laughed. Her, a vampire?! 'Mr McPherson, I am so not a vampire. If I was, do you think I'd be able to walk around in the daylight when I have to come to this place? Think about it.'

'Yes… well. I had to ask. You know about vampires. Not many people do. How do you know this? And more importantly, why?'

Amandeep sighed. God, teachers. Always asking their questions. 'How are you today, Amandeep?', 'Where's your homework, Amandeep?', 'Do you really want us to call your parents in, Amandeep?'

'The reason why I know about vampires is because I found out. Accidentally.'

'On your own? Or are there others?' Mack began to get suspicious. He didn't think Amandeep was capable of finding out such huge information by herself.

The girl nodded in response.

'Would those others include the REAL Slayer?'

Dippy nodded again.

'Oh come on Amandeep. Out with it. Who is she?'

'It's Vicki sir. Vicki Ward?'

Mr McPherson racked his brain trying to think of the girl she was speaking of. A vague image of a girl in pink with strawberry blonde hair popped up.

'Has a thing for the colour pink and wears those stupid novelty bags?' he asked.

'Yup.' Dippy waited to see what he said. It was a hard thing to find out that the saviour of the human race was a girl with an unhealthy addiction for the colour pink and hair dyed so many times no one actually knew what the original colour was.

'So Vicki's the Slayer then. How did you two figure this out?'

Dippy shrugged. 'Wasn't us. Naz figured it out actually.'

Mr McPherson frowned. 'Nazia? Nazia Ashraf?' He knew that the young Muslim was a good friend with the girl in front of him, and Vicki as well, if memory served him correctly. She was a clever thing, a quality not unusual in this school. But she always seemed to have a wonderful grasp on how things worked. Well, as least how computers worked. He taught Amandeep and Nazia for IT, so he knew this quite well anyway.

'All right then. And how did she come to find this out?'

Dippy took a long deep breath. She might as well get it out in the open. Especially if Mr Mack knew more than she did. 'You know Naz… Nazia's pretty good with a computer, the Internet, right?' Mack nodded. 'Well, she can always find you whatever you need on the 'net, which is great. Ok, the thing is, the four of us, that's me, Nazia, Vicki and Sam Hollowood were out one night and these vampires came and attacked us. Somehow, I don't know how, Vicki managed to kill them. We just thought it was a one off. But it happened again.'

'A few days after the second attack Naz, who'd been researching on the 'net since the first attack, told us she'd found out something big. She'd found this site with all this information about vampires and Slayers and stuff. Apparently it had been written by some witch girl called Willow, who once knew a Slayer, I dunno, some time ago. She'd been writing some online diary and it included all this info on how to figure out who the Slayer was, and how to kill vampires and other crap. Basically, by using that, we figured out that Vicki was the Slayer 'cos she was able to detect vampires, but the rest of us couldn't. But we were able to learn how to kill the damn vampires and that's what we've been doing since.' Dippy began to think. 'I do remember now something about a Watcher, but we thought that since no one had come then Vicki wasn't gonna have one. So we just carried on with what we were doing. But now you're here, things should get better right?'

'Of course.' Mr McPherson considered saying he hadn't a clue, but decided against it. The girl looked tired and didn't seem to want to hear that things may go very wrong at any moment.

The sound of slightly faltering footsteps echoed from above them. Both teacher and pupil instinctively looked up at the stairs coming from the Art rooms and watched, waiting.

Vicki, in a rather undignified fashion, hobbled down the stairs and cam to stand a few steps away from Dippy. She waved at her and also noted, with a little surprise that the IT teacher was still hanging around.

'What happened to you?' asked a confused looking Dippy. 'Last time I saw you, you weren't hobbling around.'

'Naomi happened.' Vicki limped towards the IT room and grabbed a chair and wheeled it out towards where Mack and Amandeep were sitting. It was then that she noticed the pile of books that lay on the stairs. Excel. 'Yuck,' she thought, 'I am SO glad I am not doing IT for A Level.'

'What's up Mr McPherson?' she grinned.

'Evening Vicki. Oh, I've not been doing much. But you, I hear you've been slaying vampires. Yes?' Vicki looked slowly from her teacher to her friend, completely bewildered as to whether he was being serious or not.

'He knows?' Amandeep nodded.

'Yeah, and get this. Mr McPherson here's your Watcher…'

Vicki frowned, and was about to say something when Dippy quickly added, knowing Vicki would want to tell all.

'…But what's this about Naomi?' Vicki laughed., the earlier remark swiftly forgotten.

'It's a long story. Well actually, it ain't. Here it is. Naomi is a vampire. I slay vampires. Therefore I slay Naomi. Bye bye Naomi. And I come away from it with a dodgy ankle. The End. Now, wasn't that a nice story, people?'

'You killed Naomi?' The blonde nodded and smiled triumphantly.

'Someone would have done it eventually, whether it was me or not. Her being a vampire just gave me an excuse.' The two girls laughed. Mr McPherson shook his head. He was still getting used to the idea that Vicki was his ward, and here she was, laughing about killing one of her schoolmates. What on earth would happen in the morning? Mack just didn't want to think about it.

'It's 8 'o' clock. Hadn't you two better be off home?' He gathered up the books and took them back into the computer room, and then returning, Mack took back the book that was still clutched by Dippy, and placed it into his black leather briefcase. Dippy got up gracefully from the step and then stood next to Vicki.

'Yeah, we'd better be going,' the girl answered in response for the two of them, leaving no room for argument. The two girls walked up the small flight of stairs, and towards the school office, the blonde leaning on the shorter dark-haired girl for support, a strange but touching sight.

'Bye Sir,' called Vicki, over her shoulder.

'Goodnight girls.' Remembering the chair Vicki had brought out, Mr McPherson went to take it back into the IT room, as well as switch off the lights.

Dippy and Vicki may their way slowly through the school, occasionally pausing so the blonde could rest her painful ankle, discussing and joking about the events that had taken place that evening.

As they walked out of the small car park, their eyes were drawn to a car parked ahead of them, by the main gates. The car, as they began to walk towards it, turned out to be more of a truck and was black and had big scratches across the side that was visible to them.

Two men leaned against the truck, another man leaning out of the drivers' side window. Dippy noted, more out of her interest in cult American chows than any interest in cars, that the driver's side was on the left rather than the right.

Vicki looked carefully at the men, but the darkness meant she was only able to pick out distinctive features. From the glare of the streetlight above, two of the men were dark haired whereas the third was platinum coloured.

'Spike…' she murmured. Her friend glanced at her questioningly.

'What?'

'Oh nothing.'

The two men jumped into the car as the girls got closer and closer. The engine roared into life, and the truck quickly sped away. Amandeep watched in more than vague interest.

'Who are they? I wonder…' she contemplated. Vicki looked at her friend and smiled knowingly.

'I'm not sure, but I get the feeling we'll find out soon enough.'

*****

The library was pretty full by the time Vicki made her usual late but very notable appearance. Sam and the others were sitting at the desk furthest from the librarian, waiting impatiently.

'What happened to you?' asked Nazia and Sam in unison, looking at each other alarmed, both surprised that the other had spoken at the same time. Vicki laughed, not at her friends, but in remembrance of the surreal events that had unfolded the previous evening, especially the entrance of a tall and dashing blond stranger.

'What? Didn't you tell them, Dippy?' she commented. The other girl shook her head and smiled wickedly.

'I thought I'd leave it for you. I just kept hinting to them. It's driving them crazy.' Nazia looked between the two girls, utterly confused.

'So… What happened? You didn't have that limp when Sam and I went home. Come on. Tell us.'

'Well, I can tell you one thing that happened. Naomi happened.' Sam, a look of vague sadness on her face, more for the thought of someone dying than for Naomi being the one who was dead, slowly walked over to the newspaper rack and picked up that morning's Metro newspaper. Silently, she walked back and held it out and Vicki took it curiously.

'Local schoolgirl Naomi Tucker, goes missing without a trace. Police suspect the young teenager ran off with her vicar boyfriend, who has also disappeared,' she read out loud. 'Well, I suppose it's up to me to update what is obviously an old headline. I think it should actually say 'Local vampire, Naomi, gets slayed by Vicki the Vampire Slayer. The End.'

Sam and Nazia looked at her, the shock visible on their faces, their mouths gaping open.

'You slayed Naomi?' mumbled the amazed Sam. Vicki nodded in proud response.

'She was a vampire. She attacked me in the sixth form block. Tried to feed off of me. Icky!' She shuddered at the memory. 'Oh yeah, guess what? I found my Watcher. He teaches right here at this school. Guess who it is?'

Nazia, who couldn't be bothered to play these silly games, came out with the first name she could think of. 'Mr Day.'

'Not Mr Day! Why would he be my Watcher? He doesn't even know how to teach, let alone be someone who is gonna tutor me in the arts of being the Slayer. No, I'm talking about Mr McPherson.' Vicki groaned inwardly. Why would she be talking about Mr 'Call me Dave' Day? The man was a walking Neanderthal man. Actually, come to think of it, he would make a great vampire deterrent. She laughed. Nazia could come out with some pretty daft things at times.

There was a collective silence as everyone stared at the blonde in front of them, Amandeep raising her eyebrows as if to say 'Go on, you explain it then, 'cos I sure as hell ain't', while the two remaining girls watched her puzzled.

'So Mr McPherson's your Watcher. Reaaally… And he says this because…' Naz enquired, the question pointed crossly at Vicki, who in turn pointed a finger at Dippy. The slight, dark haired girl sighed, in mock defeat and geared herself up to tell the others.

'Well, he say this because he knows that there are vampires here and that one of us is the Slayer,' she explained bluntly. There was no point in pulling the wool over their eyes or crack a joke. This was kinda serious and they were all in this together, whether they liked it or not.

'Dippy!' exclaimed Sam, 'How the hell did you get onto this topic anyhow?'

'Well, he was still in school when Vicki and I went to check around. He asked me what I was doing there and I told him he wouldn't believe me. He said 'Try me' and 'cos I didn't think he'd believe me, I told him I'd been slaying vampires. He seemed like he already knew what I was going to say. And anyway, I REALLY thought he wouldn't believe me,' she finished. 'Besides, he seems quite the expert. He even quoted some stupid saying at me, all about Slayers and Watchers. So I'm guessing he is Vicki's Watcher.'

'Really. Mr Mack?' Both sixteen year olds nodded.

'He has books,' commented Vicki as she made her way to the computers and grabbed a chair after asking a lower year if they minded if she took it. She may be able to kill the living dead in seconds but she was also a polite girl, unlike some of the lower years. She sat back and put the chair next to hers, resting her aching ankle on the seat. It wasn't as bad as it had been last night, but it still throbbed from time to time, even tough she'd dosed up on enough paracetamol to knock out a tyrannosaurus rex. She winced as a blazer wearing lower year came past and banged against her chair, causing her ankle to hurt even more.

The three girls watched their friend, two with concern, and Amandeep with a touch of amusement.

'How are you gonna fight with that ankle?' Sam asked her, the concern clear in her voice.

People grabbed their bags and scuttled out of the library, much like colony ants, as the school bell rang for morning registration. Vicki shrugged dismissively.

As the other three girls made their way out of the library, Vicki called out after them. 'Relax guys! I'll be fine. Don't fuss. We'll be ok. And anyway, I have a guardian angel.'

This last bit was said in a quiet voice, as if she were talking to herself. Vicki picked up her bag and raised herself from the seat, ignoring the pain it caused on her ankle as well as wonder why her friends had gone and walked off without her, when a moment ago, they'd been worried about her. She sighed. 'My friends. What am I to do?'

Vicki then smiled. 'Well, at least I've got my guardian angel. To save me from the evil Naomi's of the world. Not that I need saving.'

She began to limp out of the library and someone stepped in front of her, interrupting her thoughts. Looking up she saw Mr McPherson. Wow, what did you say to your teacher cum Watcher early in the morning?

'Hi Sir,' she said cheerily, 'Didn't see you there.'

Mack smiled. After what happened last night, it was good to see Vicki happy. 'Never mind that. How is that ankle of yours?'

'Just a little sore this morning Sir,' she spoke as the teachers began to flood through from the staff room, wanting to get their registers. Mr McPherson guided Vicki back into the library she had just departed. Although the library was silent anyway, he began to talk quietly.

'So, will you be able to fight tonight? Patrol as it were?' Vicki nodded immediately, smiling.

'Of course Mr McPherson. No question.'

'Look you know I'm your Watcher, and I really wouldn't want you to be fighting with a dodgy ankle.'

'I'll be all right, Sir. Nazia's getting some proper weapons for us to fight with. From eBay I think.'

'What? Weapons?' He shook his head. He really didn't want Nazia and the others to be fighting alongside Vicki, but from the sounds of things, she needed them as much as they needed her. 'All right then. But I don't want to see any of you hurt. Got that? If you can't kill them, run. Fast.'

The second bell, which signalled assembly time, rang causing Vicki to look down at her watch.

'Oh no! I'm late.' the teenager hastily turned away from her teacher, and made for the library door for the second time that morning.

'Look, just tell…'

'Mrs Lambert.' she added.

'…Mrs Lambert that you were showing me some work or seeing another teacher.'

Vicki nodded, and scurried down the corridor, as fast as her painful ankle would allow her and disappeared from his sight.

Mr McPherson rolled his eyes in vague annoyance.

'These girls. Always late,' he muttered to himself as he walked to his form room to take registration for the morning.