AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please review. That's it really.

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CHAPTER 3

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Safety comes in seven.

            Spike leaned back lazily in his comfortable, but undeniably past its best, green upholstered armchair and listened to Doyle and Angel attempting to make battle plans for that evening.

            'So. You park in front of the gates and stay with the car…'

            Doyle interrupted the souled vampire. 'Again? Why is it always me who has to wait in the car?'

            Angel looked him straight in the eye, keeping his face serious, answered.

            'Do you want to prowl around in the dark not sure whether or not you're gonna be pounced on from behind and either have your throat ripped out or get sucked dry?'

            The look on the Irishman's face said more than his words ever could have. 'So. I park in front of the gates and stay with the car, then what?'

            Spike rose from his easy chair and sauntered over to the bookcase, randomly picking a book, which was leather-bound and red, and then made his way back to his seat.

            'Spike… you've been quiet all day. Since last night in fact. Anything wrong?'

            Spike looked up from flicking through the book, which was surprisingly a very old edition of a collection of William Shakespeare's plays. Spike had been looking for Hamlet, one of his favourite plays. Very bloody. Always the best. He glanced up at Angel.

            'Nope. Nothing wrong with me whatsoever. Just thinking we need to do less talking, and more doing, if you know what I mean. These 'plans' we come up with are often buggered up anyway. Why can't we just play it by ear for once?' He got up and placed the book back where he'd got it and then returning to his seat, began to start to count the tiles on the ceiling.

            After a few minutes, Angel glanced up at the cheap, white kitchen clock that had come with the house.

            'Fine Spike. We'll play it by ear. But if anything goes wrong…'

            '…I'm to blame. Yeah, yeah, whatever,' the blond vampire finished. He climbed up from his chair grudgingly, and waited for Doyle and Angel to pass through the doorway before following them, closing the door behind him and locking it.

            The two vampires and their half demon companion made their way to the small garage, which housed the car. It was no small wonder they had found a house in the middle of nowhere with a garage in Walsall. It seemed that, unlike in America, there were no apartments with massive underground car parks. Just small, dingy bedsits or terraced houses with a spot allotted on the curb beneath their window. But somehow Doyle had managed to re-call some very dubious sounding favours and had secured them this detached four-bed roomed abode. Free of rent. With a garage. And even a spacious garden, both front and back. From what Spike could tell of Walsall, this was indeed a big feat.

            Angel lifted up the garage door and jumped into the drivers seat. Spike followed, leaping in nest to him and finally Doyle clamoured in the back. The dark vampire turned the key in the ignition and with a little splutter of protest, the engine came to life. The car was reversed out of the garage and onto the road with a quick ease. As he was about to drive away, Doyle coughed.

            'Er Angel?' Angel looked to see what Doyle was about to say.

            'What?'

            Doyle pointed at the still open garage door. Spike tried not to grin.

            'Ah shit…' Angel murmured, climbing out of the car, slamming down the garage door angrily. Returning to the car, he leapt in and put his foot down on the accelerator a little too quickly.

            'I will never get used to that damn garage door thing.' Spike laughed out loud.

            The car sped down back streets, speeding round sharp corners, and then eventually came to a halt outside the school gates. Doyle ran a hand through his short, black hair.

            'Jaysus Angel. You drove like a bat outta hell just then. What's the rush?'

            The vampire didn't reply. Instead, he bound out of the car and over to the smaller school gates. He tried to push them open but to no avail. It was then that he noticed the chain and padlock that held them shut. Angel cursed under his breath and backtracked to the car.

            'Locked?' enquired Spike. Angel nodded.

            'Damn.' Doyle and Angel looked at Spike in surprise.

            'What?' he demanded. Angel shrugged and turned back to the gates, wondering what to do next. Doyle just smiled knowingly at Spike.

            Spike jumped out of the car, his long, black leather duster flowing out behind him like a pair of bat's wings.  He landed neatly next to Angel and took the padlock in his right hand. He tugged the chain sharply and suddenly, and then watched as it fell to the ground, the gates sliding open. Doyle and Angel once more looked at Spike in surprise as he entered the school grounds easily.

            Angel followed the platinum blond vampire slowly. They crept forward until they came to the science archway. At this point, as if upon some silent command, but actually due to a common understanding, Angel turned left towards the main building whereas Spike turned right, in the direction of the silver faced sixth form block.

*****

            The girls had all congregated in the small IT network room earlier that evening and were now, an hour later, patrolling the grounds together to avoid a repeat of the previous evening's injury. Throughout the day, Vicki's ankle had eased and she was now able to walk without a limp and with only the slightest discomfort. They had now entered main school hall, after doing the whole of the main block, with no vampire sightings as of yet.

            She pressed her hand to her waist, feeling the cold reassurance of the wooden stake Mr McPherson had given her, which she had tucked in her pink studded belt.

            'Here vampires, vampires, vampires,' taunted Sam, trying to lighten the mood that hung between them like stagnant air.

            'Come to Dippy.' She looked at Vicki, Nazia and Sam, and Dippy felt vaguely safe. They say that safety comes in numbers and so she felt a lot less threatened than she had last night, when she'd been very alone. Of course, nothing had happened, but still…

            Nazia sighed loudly and everyone looked at her. In reply to their unanswered questions, she began.

            'You know, I really don't think we have anything to worry about. I mean, hello? Swipe card system anyone? How can the buggers get in if they don't have swipe cards? I mean, half of us can't get into the damn school ourselves, so what chance do these vampires have?'

She turned to face her friends as she said this. Vicki arched an eyebrow.

            'Oh yeah?'

            'Yeah.' Naz smiled and then stopped as she saw the looks in her friends' eyes. 'Oh shit… They're not…'

            Dippy and Sam nodded. Nazia slowly turned round to be faced by a terrifying sight. There seemed to be around twenty vampires, ready to feed, moving towards them.

            'SHIT!' Nazia shouted, and began to move backwards, as the other three girls had begun to do.

            'RUN!' screamed Vicki, and Sam ran. She fled out of the hall, through the art rooms, and down so many stairs and doors, that she lost count of where she was. Cramp began to tear at her left side so she slowed, turning her head and instead of seeing her friends behind her, she saw an empty corridor. After the initial shock, she back ahead of her, her eyes landing on a tall, dark figure coming out of one of the technology rooms.

            She quickly grabbed the ivory-handled dagger from the bag that hung at her side, and waved it threateningly at the man in front of her, who had begun to walk towards her.

            Angel smiled. 'There really is no need for that,' he said, as he gestured at the dagger.

            Sam looked more thoroughly at the man as he came closer, taking in his ravishing good looks, still clutching the blade, not quite sure of what to do. He could just be playing mind games with her, getting her to trust him before he moved in for the kill. Hell, he could even be a vampire. And her stalling would have showed him how non-Slayer she was.

            Angel took pity on the girl in front of him. She was obviously in two minds as to trust him or not, so he decided to make it easier for her. Pushing her to one side, he deftly staked the vampire that had been slowly creeping up behind the girl, and watched as it turned to dust.

            'See? It's dead. I killed it. So that means I won't kill you. I'm here to help actually. Where are the others?' the dark haired man moved towards her and offered her a hand.

            Sam looked up at him and was still not entirely convinced. 'How do I know I can trust you not to kill me and my friends?'

            'With a name like Angel, how can you not trust me?'

            Sam sighed and gave in, after all, what had she got to lose? If he killed her, then so be it. But if he were what he said he was, then she'd be helping her friends. Following Angel, she directed him to the school hall where she had left her friends to fight without her.

*****

            Nazia watched as their friend disappeared behind them.

            'Oh for fuck's sake! I don't believe this!'

            'I didn't mean for her to run. I panicked ok?! And anyway, Mr McPherson told me that if we get into trouble we should run.' Vicki's pretty features pulled forward into a childish pout.

            'Well, Sam took that bit of advice pretty well I'd say,' Dippy remarked sarcastically.

            'Oh fuck this.' Vicki replied. The vampires advanced, the threat becoming more and more sickeningly real to the girls the closer they came.

            For some reason, the creatures stopped 6 metres from them. Each girl reached for her weapon, Nazia pulling out a crossbow from the bag at her side. Dippy wielding her trusty wide-bladed knife, and Vicki clutching her stake with its extra sharp pointy bit.

            Vicki looked to Naz, her blue eyes focusing with jealousy on the crossbow.

            'Whoa… Where the hell you get that from?'

            'Oh. Erm… I ordered it off eBay. This is the first thing to come by post. I kinda ordered it in the school's name. They won't mind, will they?'

            Vicki's laughs became whimpers as the cluster of vampires began moving once more, as if in slow motion. The three girls stepped back, retreating a step for every step the vampires made in advance.

            Dippy peered over her shoulder, ready to make a getaway plan.

            'Shit.'

            Nazia and Vicki also glanced back. 'What the fuck do we do now?' Naz yelled, fear causing her voice to ring out shrill and high, as the girls drew back closer to the dead-ended hall.

            'Fight!' screamed Vicki, flying forward, her blonde hair flowing behind her. Nazia and Dippy watched, amazed, as their friend disappeared in an onslaught of the creatures.

            Nazia defiantly raised her crossbow so that she had a clear view down the arrow shaft. She aimed and fired, the arrow driving straight through the chest of the vampire ahead of her. She flicked her hair out of her face and whooped in triumph as the creature fell to the ground, instantly turning into dust.

            Vicki, meanwhile, was fighting off vampires from every side as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She reached over, grabbing a handful of hair and snapped back a head, shattering the neck of the being, driving her stake cruelly into its heart. She pulled the stake back out before the vampire crumpled in front of her, not even getting the chance to take a breath before having to kick away another of the repulsive beasts.

            Dippy hacked her way viciously and mercilessly through a line of vampires, removing arms and heads, slicing through the creatures, sending them screaming into piles of dust.

            The shorthaired girl made her way to where Nazia was rapidly running out of arrows. As the arrow hit its target, Dippy yanked it back out. She turned and watched in pure surprise as the arrow lodged itself in another vampire's eye, sending it screaming backwards where it met with its death on the end of Vicki's stake. 

            The Slayer looked up, grinned and once more disappeared amongst the army of vampires.

            Nazia and Amandeep worked side-by-side, destroying the seemingly never-ending torrent of the ghoulish bloodsuckers. Neither girl said a word.

            Vicki looked around, feeling increasingly tired and out-numbered. Her ankle was throbbing with pain as she kicked out time and time again.

            Dippy gazed up from the body of a quickly disintegrating vampire.

            'Hollowood's back.' Nazia glimpsed up, her intrigue overpowering the thoughts that one moment of concentration loss could mean her death.

            'Who the hell's that?' She aimed her crossbow at the tall, dark stranger running towards them. She was just about to fire when amazed, she and Amandeep watched as the man began skilfully attacking the nearest vampire.

            Sam was looking rather pleased as she made her way to fight beside her friends. From the looks of things she and 'Angel' had got here in the nick of time.

            Vicki was quickly losing strength. She hit out desperately, her hits missing their targets more often than not. As one of the vampires leant forwards, eyes locked on her jugular with fangs at the ready, a rough hand encircled its neck and crushed its windpipe. Vicki pushed the stake into the creature's chest and as it fell, she pulled the stake back out and came face to face with…

            'Spike.'

            'We really must stop meeting like this,' he commented, taking her hand and pulling her away from the wall she had been relying on to keep her body upright.

            The number of vampires had dramatically decreased, how many had deserted it wasn't clear, but the piles of dust littering the floor gave everyone of the fighters hope. Nazia looked down at her pocket and noticed with dismay that she only had two arrows left. She planned and aimed carefully, taking out two of the creatures with her first arrow and three with the last.

            Sam had not yet tired and she was fighting with energy and enthusiasm, two qualities Vicki noted, that she didn't seem to ever have possessed before over anything other than that seedy American soap opera and football players. The dark haired girl kicked out sending a vampire to its death at the hands of Angel.

            Dippy applauded as her friends defeated the last four vampires. Nazia killed one by slamming the actual wooden part into the vampires chest, Sam sending another back to hell with her dagger, Angel producing a piece of wood out of nowhere and thrusting it into the creature's torso, and finally Vicki and Spike working together, with Spike holding the vampire down as the teenager drove her stake into the vampire's heart.

            A silence fell over them, each of the fighters looking to each other, silently examining with their eyes, each breathing heavily.

The heavy, yet comfortable, silence was interrupted by the sound of running footsteps. The girls tensed for a fight, while the two vampires recognised the footfall. A shortish dark haired man ran straight into the hall, dressed in a dark green shirt, black trousers and a leather jacket. He glanced at the men and then to each of the teenagers and sighed.

            'Don't tell me I missed all the fun(!)' Vicki noted, with no small amount of relish, the deep Irish accent, while Angel and Spike walked over to their companion.

            ''Fraid so, Doily.' Angel stood between his bickering associates, looking apologetically at the sixteen year olds. Doyle, following Angel's gaze, looked at the girls, his eyes landing on the blonde Slayer he had seen occasionally in his visions and often in his dreams.

            'I believe introductions are in order. I'm Doyle. This…' he pointed to the platinum haired man, '…is William the Bloody. Commonly known as Spike. He got the name from shoving railway spikes into people.' Vicki raised an eyebrow as Spike grinned evilly at her.

            'And this…' Doyle turned to the tall black-clad man to his right, '…is Angel.' All four girls nodded in friendly acknowledgement.

Doyle stepped over to where the Slayer was leaning against the wall, slightly apart from her friends, trying to take the weight off her ankle that was wracked with piercing pain without appearing hurt to the people around her.

            'And you are…?' he asked softly.

            'I'm Vicki,' she held out her right hand. Doyle took it in his and the two shook hands.

            'That's Nazia,' she pointed in the direction of the longhaired girl holding the crossbow at her side. 'She's the clever one.' Nazia protested quietly. Vicki ignored her and continued.

            'That's Amandeep. Everyone calls her Dippy.' Dippy mumbled a greeting and began to examine her knife attentively, checking for scratches or a blunt edge.

            'And finally, the girl with her tongue hanging out of her mouth is Sam.' The girl blushed and closed her mouth, while Nazia grinned at her.

            Amandeep looked up thoughtfully from her knife.

            'So. What are you doing here?' she enquired, the hostility openly present in her voice.

            'Helping you girls out,' replied Angel in his usual matter-of-fact manner.

            'We couldn't leave you girls to deal with a Hellmouth all on your own,' commented Doyle.

            'We're not helpless damsels in distress you know,' retorted Dippy coolly.

            'I never said that you were.' Doyle shifted uneasily while Vicki flashed her friend a look that Dippy knew meant that the blonde was disgusted with her unfriendly behaviour towards the newcomers. Then the teenager smiled comfortably at Doyle, placing a hand on his shoulder.

            'We're very grateful for your help. We'd have been vampire food tonight if you three hadn't turned up,' she explained, trying to act as a referee to the argument she felt would arise if Dippy didn't stop acting hostile.

            There being nothing more to say, the girls walked out of the hall, and through the Art rooms. The three men glanced at one another, whereupon Angel shrugged and silently turned to follow them.

*****

            Sam waved as the car drove away.

            'They seem like nice people.' she said to Vicki.

            'You mean ANGEL seems like a nice person.' Vicki grinned knowingly at her friend.

            'What? Is it that obvious?' The blonde shook her head causing a few strands of hair to fall across her face, which she impatiently tucked behind her ears.

            'Only to the girls and me. Men don't pick up on things like that.' Sam looked relieved as she pulled the large metal gates shut.

            'Well, it looks like you'll have your hands full,' Sam stated, changing the subject, a defence mechanism to protect herself from any more embarrassment. Vicki frowned in confusion.

            'What d'you mean?'

            'Both Doyle AND Spike.' The blonde looked away, trying to hide the sly smile that had crossed her pale face.

            'Sure, Doyle seems a sweetie, but Spike? I owe him. He's a friend. That's all.'

            'Vicki…'

            'Ok, ok. He's helped me out before.' Sam raised an eyebrow, but decided not to pursue it in a kind of gratefulness that her friend had not pestered her about her earlier disappearance of her interest in the mysterious Angel.

            'I hope Naz and Dippy get home alright,' murmured Vicki.

            'They'll be fine. See you tomorrow.' Sam turned and walked off in the direction of the nearby car park where a parent would be waiting in the car to take her to the relative safety of her home.

            Vicki observed her friend walking away. Shivering, she pulled her warm, woollen dark purple coat tighter around herself, took a deep breath and started walking home. She braced herself as, leaving the shelter of the metal gates, she was hit by the bitterly cold nighttime early October wind.

            She moved quickly, pushing against the fierce wind, her hair flapping out behind her. Vicki stared down at her watch. If she didn't hurry up, she'd be late again and she didn't fancy another one of those arguments with her parents. The teenager still had the feeling that her parents didn't believe her excuse for being late: being taught a evening class in IT and Computing by Mr McPherson, a claim that the teacher had promised to back up if ever the situation arose when Victoria's parents openly questioned their daughter about her late night activities.

            Vicki sighed and made her way to the bus stop. It was another eight months before she could learn to drive and she was counting the days until she could rid herself of the inconvenience of the local, unreliable bus system.

            Her head snapped up as she heard a car slow down as it passed her. She really didn't need this right now. Not a goddamn kerb crawler asking for 'help'. Jeez. Walsall certainly was a hellhole, with or without the Hellmouth.

            'Need a lift?' She tensed, opened her mouth to make a sarcastic reply, and then closed it. She recognised that voice. Vicki stopped and smiled.

            'Depends if you're offering.' She wandered over to the car that was now stationary. 'Hi Doyle.'

            'Vicki.' Doyle nodded his head and pushed open the passenger side door. The blonde clambered in and shut the door quickly, blocking out the world. She spun round in her seat and smiled broadly at the Irishman.

            'So. What you doing here?' she questioned him.

            'I didn't want you out on your own.' Doyle gazed at Vicki for a few minutes before quickly looking back to the road, concentration on his driving.

            'That's really kind of you, but I can take care of myself.'

            'So I've heard.' The young woman stared around her, attempting to focus through the dark as they drove.

            'Hey, do you know where you're going?' she asked hesitantly.

            'I have a vague idea,' he answered. She nodded.

            'Good enough.' The teenager fidgeted in her seat.

            'What will your parents think of you being dropped off by strange Irishmen at all times of the night?' Vicki looked up at Doyle and grinned.

            'Oh the usual. They'll think I've got myself drunk out of my mind, and had to be brought home by a friend's boyfriend. They'll basically stress themselves to death.'

            'Yeah, just the usual then.' The girl giggled.

            'Is this your house?' asked the half human. The Slayer glanced to her left, turning back to Doyle, a look of astonishment on her face.

            'Yeah! But how did you…'

            'Let's just say I just know these things.' He smiled.

            'Yeah…'

            'Well, I guess…' Doyle blushed, feeling unusually lost for words. Disguising his awkwardness, he pushed open the car door, jumped out and quickly walked around the front of the convertible. The man opened the passenger door and gently helped the blonde down.

As she slipped from her seat, she stood face-to-face in front the half demon, their bodies close. Vicki looked into Doyle's eyes and smiled, reaching forward and placing a light kiss on his slightly parted lips.

            'See you around,' she murmured before turning wand walking to her front door.

            'Bye,' Doyle called out, his happy surprise delaying his reactions, as he watched her each for her leys and open the door. She waved and disappeared into the house.

            He waited a few seconds, his eyes remaining on the spot she had stood, a smile growing on his face.

            'YES!' he whispered triumphantly, jumping into the car and slamming the door shut behind him.