The Evil That Men Do
Author: MeB (aka XanWill4Ever-Michael B)
Email: lenoxfiles@hotmail.com
Spoiler: Majority takes place in the summer after the First Season. There are scenes that takes place some time after Lovers Walk from Season 3. There may be some slight AU, but not much.
Summary: Willow loses her memory and finds help from a private investigator in Boston.
Disclaimer: The characters from Spenser For Hire belong to Robert Parker. All characters from Buffy tVS belong to Joss.
Disclaimer Note: The Lost Boys idea is borrowed from the movie "The Lost Boys" which starred Keifer Sutherland. The actual characters in this story are just four vamps who saw the movie and they simply took the name for themselves.
Rating - R - SL/V/AC xwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxw
Please Note-This chapter is the darkest chapter of the story. The scenes are suggestive in nature.
6
JUST OUTSIDE LA
Almost four hours later, they arrived at the Funhouse. The Funhouse was located deep in the woods and it was completely surrounded by the forrest. It was secluded. It was as far removed from civilization as it could be, and that was necessary for then no one could hear the screams of the innocent. An unpaved trail led through the forrest in winding curves. Giles had a hard time just following the path with the Giles-Mobile, but somehow he managed.
When they finally saw this Funhouse looming out of the darkness before them, they were at first filled with relief that they actually found the place. But then that relief turned to apprehension as they realized what they could find within those walls of evil. And it was evil. It was a place of the darkest evil known to man. As they sat in the car and stared at the Funhouse, they could feel the horrible, numbing presence of evil itself. It gave off a foreboding sense of doom. The presence was so strong that they literally felt their hope draining out of their bodies. All hope that they would find Willow alive and unharmed in that awful place evaporated within seconds.
Xander filled his mind with anger as he forcibly shook off the heavy oppression threatening to consume him. He grabbed for the door handle and prepared to open the door.
Angel glanced back at him from the front seat. "Xander. Please...stay in the car."
Xander had the door open, but he didn't get out. He was looking at Angel in disbelief. "Are you crazy? If Will is in there--"
"I will bring her out." Angel looked at Giles. Then he looked toward the Funhouse and he took a deep breath. "Look...we know what kind of a place this is. It's a place to get high and have your pick at the victims of the week. I swear...I don't want either one of you to step one foot in that place."
Giles regarded him. "What do you propose we do? W-we aren't about to sit out here and wait for you to bring Willow out. You might n-need us to help you."
Angel paused in thought. Then he swallowed hard as if he were trying to hold back his revulsion for the Funhouse. "All right...At least wait until I clear the way. Then come in."
"Angel," Xander protested, "we can help you."
Angel shook his head. "I said let me clear the way first. Xander, I know about these places. Most of the people in there are wasted, and there may be three or four guys who are keeping an eye out for trouble. But they are human. They're not demons in there. So I'm betting that once I go in there..." His face abruptly changed to that of his darker side. "...and show my face like this, they'll all come out running."
With that, Angel climbed out of the car and he went through the front door of the Funhouse.
Xander snorted. "Like that's really going to work! How's that going to scare people who are wasted? That doesn't even scare me and I'm not wasted."
Giles glanced back at him, but he didn't say anything.
They both looked toward the Funhouse.
Xander waved his hand impatiently toward the Funhouse. "You see? I don't see--"
Someone came diving through a window on the first floor. Shortly after that, the front door slammed open so hard that it nearly came off from its hinges. People came pouring out through the front doorway screaming for their lives. Some climbed into vehicles and sped off through the woods. Tires spun on gravel. Some of the vehicles didn't even use the trail. Other people simply ran off and disappeared into the woods.
A few minutes later, silence descended around them. Giles and Xander waited, but no one else came running out of the house.
Giles turned to look at Xander. "Y-you were saying...?"
Xander looked at him, but he didn't respond.
The two men climbed out of the car and they slowly made their approach toward the Funhouse. The door was wide open and as they neared the entrance, a strange, sweet odor struck them. The closer they got to the doorway, the stronger the scent became.
"What is that horrible smell?" Xander asked, trying not to gag.
Giles hesitated. "D-dope. Marijuana. F-for one, anyway...but there are other odors."
There were other odors as they entered cautiously into the Funhouse. Urine. Body odor. Things better left to the imagination. Alcohol. Incense. All mingled together, it made for one horrible odor.
Xander pulled the front of his shirt over his nose and mouth. "What kind of madhouse is this, Giles? These people are sick!"
That's when he and Giles got their first good look at the living room that they had found themselves in. The place was completely trashed. There was garbage all over the place. There were beer cans and uneaten food scattered about. Someone had vomited on the sofa. An assortment of pills and trails of heroin lined the coffee table. There were red pills, yellow pills, green pills, and even bright pink pills and as Xander looked at them, he couldn't help but think of how closely those pills resembled M & M's. But they weren't M & M's. Far from it. And those lines of a white powdery substance was not sugar.
The most horrifying site in the living room was the girl in the corner. She hadn't said anything as they entered, nor had she uttered a sound. Giles and Xander saw her at the same time and they froze in their tracks.
The girls clothes were torn, she was half naked, and she was chained to the wall. There was a collar around her throat and the chain was linked to it.
"Oh...dear God..." Xander said softly. He was on the verge of breaking down. "Giles, is she...?"
Giles knelt beside the girl. Her eyes were vacant and staring. "Wh- whoever she is," he said in a hoarse whisper, "she's alive, Xander."
Xander took a hesitant step closer. "My God, Giles! She's so...young!" There was a catch in his voice. He balled his hands into fists. "This is so wrong! I have never in my life seen anything so wrong." There was a lot of anguish expressed through his words.
Giles turned to look at him.
Xander swallowed a lump in his throat. "A Funhouse, huh?" He wanted to explode. "Well, are we having any fun yet?" he asked sarcastically. He looked around the room. "Dear God...I-I've got to find Willow." He turned away from Giles as his eyes filled with tears.
* * *
Angel heard nothing.
It was as if everything around him except for the horrible sight in front of him ceased to exist. He found himself staring in horror at what he had discovered in the basement. There was so much blood. It was all over what he saw, and great puddles were on the floor.
Upon entering the basement, the first sensation that hit him was the sense of smell. He had been struck with the odor of blood and death. But it was a horrible death and the smell had been so strong, he had almost stumbled down the stairs.
But then he saw the cage hanging by the ceiling. That wasn't where the odor had originated from, but it caught his attention nonetheless. The cage was like a bird cage, but it was big enough to hold a person inside. It was empty now. There were wires wrapped around each of the bars and he wondered about that, however, only for a few seconds.
His eyes had locked onto the horror of his discovery and it froze him where he stood.
So there he was.
Angel simply stood there.
He couldn't bring himself to move.
He found it difficult to breathe.
God help him, he couldn't even force himself to look away.
A single tear began to roll down his face.
So he stood there and he looked. He knew then that no matter how much of a monster he had been when he had no soul, he had never done anything quite like this. And he swore to himself that it would never happen. He was looking at something that could only be a heinous act of sheer brutality, and yet there was something that made this deed even that much more horrible. For this act had not been committed by demons. Or vampires. From them, such acts could be expected.
But, no.
This was an evil that man did.
Human beings did this.
And then his eyes wandered to the cage hanging above the floor. He didn't know why, but he thought that Willow might have been trapped in that cage and that she might have seen with her own pure, innocent eyes the horror of what had been done here.
Angel wanted to scream. He wanted to cry out to the heavens and demand justice, but all that escaped from his lips was a soft gasp and a groan of anguish. He was shaking.
Dear God, help me! Angel thought. He was so dangerously close to falling into his own rage. The thought crossed his mind that if Willow had met a fate like this one, he would kill every goddamn last one of them. There would be no place on earth where they could hide. He would do it, at the risk of losing his own soul.
He buried his face in his hands and he tried to breathe. "Oh, God...please don't let Willow go through this..." He was horribly shaking from what he saw.
Then he heard something.
Someone was on the stairs.
"Angel..." Xander called. "Did you find Willow?"
Angel quickly moved to the bottom of the stairs and he raised his hand. "Stay there, Xander! Don't you come down here!"
Xander stopped half way down the staircase. It registered in his mind that he had never seen Angel so visibly shaken before. But he was painfully aware of something else.
That horrible stench of death.
He looked at Angel and swallowed. He felt like he wanted to throw up. "Oh, God...y-you found her, didn't you? You found Willow!"
Angel shook his head. "No...I-it's not Willow."
Hope flashed across Xander's face as behind him, Giles appeared in the doorway of the basement.
"Please...don't come down here," Angel pleaded. "Both of you...just stay back."
Xander took a step down. "What did you find, Angel? W-what did they do?"
"You don't want to know."
Xander hesitated. Was it morbid curiosity or did he want to know what the future held for Willow? He took another step down.
Suddenly, Angel raced up the steps toward Xander. Before Xander could even stop him, Angel grabbed him and literally carried him out of the basement. He brushed past a stunned Giles and carried Xander right out through the front doorway and out into the night. Without warning, he tossed Xander to the ground.
Xander was furious. By the time he managed to get to his feet, he was ready to let Angel have it. But the look on Angel's face stopped him cold.
"I may be a monster to you, Xander," Angel said, a tremor in his voice, "but I will NOT let you see that! And I swear to God, I won't let that happen to Willow."
Xander stared at him. He was horrified. "Angel...w-what if we're too late? What if it already happened?"
Angel tried hard too keep his emotions in check. But there was a dangerous look in his eyes. "Then I will become the monster you accuse me of being."
Xander regarded him. For a long time, he just couldn't take his eyes off from the vampire with a soul. Finally, he said, "I'm sorry, Angel." He shook his head. He was stunned about what he was going to say, but deep inside, he knew it must be true. "You're not the monster here. I-I don't know what you saw...but I can figure it out." He hesitated. "You're sure it...it wasn't Willow?"
Angel nodded. He paused. "I-I think it might be Kali."
Xander closed his eyes. He didn't even know this Kali, but he felt like crying anyway.
Angel swallowed a lump in his throat as he tried to regain his composure. "I...I thought I saw everything." He looked at Xander. "I was wrong." He grit his teeth. "It...it makes me sick."
Xander didn't know what to say.
"Quite right," Giles replied as he came walking out of the house. He had a cell phone in his hand. And he was as pale as a ghost. "I find th-that it makes me ill as well."
Angel turned to look at him. "You saw...?" he trailed off.
Giles nodded. "I-I did." He looked at Angel sadly. He was shaking. "Angel...you m-may be many things. B-but I do know that you care. Believe it or not, that...that says a lot about you." He took off his glasses and wiped at his eyes. Then he took a deep breath, and he put his glasses back on. "If you really want to know, Xander, a-about the worst kind of monster there is in the world, I can tell you. The worst kind of monster or demon will not be in a-any of the books at the library. You can't research this kind of monster for it is the worst kind and there is none like it." He paused. "The worst kind of demon is a human being who can do this despicable act of evil to another human being." He was referring to what he had seen in the basement.
Xander swallowed. "Angel said it wasn't Willow."
"I-it wasn't. Whoever it was had b-blonde hair." Giles paused as he thought for a fleeting moment about Buffy. He was glad she was spared from this. "I'm afraid i-it may have been this Kali." He looked down at the cell phone in his hand.
"What are you going to do with that?" Xander asked.
"I'm going to call the police."
Angel hesitated. "We can't stay here, Giles. We have a flight to catch."
Giles nodded. "We'll catch that flight, Angel. B-but we have to call the proper authorities and tell them to get here. Th-there is still a girl in there who can be taken from this place, and perhaps she can even recover...some day."
Angel nodded his head.
Giles dialed 911 in the cell phone. ____________________________________________________
BOSTON
Hawk went to his penthouse apartment and he stood in his doorway. He stood there for a long time as if he were waiting for something. He didn't turn the lights on. He didn't move. But his eyes took in everything and his ears were listening to his surroundings.
He heard Little Mikey even before he saw him. The so-called Lost Boy was behind the curtain at the open window, and he was standing still. But the fool was trying to hiss quietly.
Hawk never understood why they did that hissing sound. It wasn't even scary.
Hawk stepped into his apartment and he closed the door behind him. The apartment slipped into darkness and Little Mikey lunged at him. Hawk rose his foot and caught the fool in the throat with a swift kick. The kick caused Little Mikey to fall on the floor onto his back and when he was down, Hawk moved in.
He picked up the little guy by his collar and slammed him hard against the wall. Then he dragged him into the kitchen. As he did, he would slam his head into a wall or counter top or whatever suited his needs. Little Mikey was flailing about, but he was just no match for Hawk. Hawk slammed him one more time, and Little Mikey went to dreamland.
When Little Mikey woke up, he was tied to a chair and he was on the patio. His fangs were revealed as he glared at Hawk with yellow eyes of hatred.
"Let me go!" he declared.
Hawk looked at him. "Tell me who wants the girl."
"Go to hell!"
Hawk showed him a nice big set of pliers. "Who is after the girl?"
Little Mikey blinked at the pliers. "Hey...uh...wh-what are you going to do with those?"
"I'm only a bad ass at night, blood. During the day, I do dentistry."
Little Mikey swallowed. "I-is this a joke?"
"Let's see if you think the joke is funny after I do this."
The "this" was Hawk forcing open Little Mikey's mouth and ripping out a fang with the pliers. Little Mikey cried, whimpered, and begged. Then he told Hawk who was after the girl. Of course, this was after Hawk had removed all of his teeth.
"I'm un pun, mon," Little Mikey said.
"Don't worry. I have one of nature's best sedatives for you, man," Hawk told him.
Little Mikey looked at him. "Huh?"
"The sun will be up soon."
Little Mikey looked out and saw that Hawk was right. The sun was just beginning to rise. He looked at Hawk and pleaded with him.
Hawk shook his head. "I just can't stand a whimpering dead boy." Without warning, he grabbed a hold of Little Mikey's head and he twisted hard. There was a loud snap and Hawk found himself holding onto the vampire's head.
The body fell to dust, and then the head followed its fate. Hawk dusted himself off and he looked at the results of his work. "Damn," he said softly. "Gotta give the cleaning lady a bigger tip for the extra vacuuming she'll have to do."
* * *
Somehow, she trusted me. I didn't fully understand why she did, but I was glad she could find it within her to trust someone. It would be a horrible thing to go through something without having someone there for support.
I understood that my Jane Doe needed something and I think that she understood that I needed something, too. It was like we each had a hole in out lives that needed filling. She seemed to recognize that there was something wrong with me. She sensed my illness somehow, at least, even though she didn't know what it was. And I really don't know of any other way to explain how I knew this other than to say that it was in her green eyes.
She had the most beautiful, expressive green eyes I had ever seen. I believe she was fully capable of speaking volumes with those eyes and in the beginning, I was able to learn a little of what she was trying to communicate to me through her eyes.
The hospital was gracious enough to donate clothes and other necessities for her before we left that morning. I was given a Xanax prescription for her anxiety and she was supposed to take it twice a day. That was already a hurdle we had to get over.
She had refused to take the first pill.
She had been given the pill and a cup of water and she didn't touch either one. There they were on the surface of her tray within easy reach. She just didn't reach for it. She didn't push it away either. She just looked at it.
Then she looked at me.
I saw her fear, her confusion, and her desperation in her eyes and I felt badly for her. I also believed I knew why she wouldn't take the pill. She had been drugged before this, but against her will. She may not have remembered the details, and yet her subconscious mind recognized something.
I smiled reassuringly at her. "You don't have to take it if you don't want to."
She didn't want to, so she didn't take it.
About an hour later, we were standing together outside the hospital with the morning sun shining upon us. I felt different somehow. As I looked down at Jane Doe, I wondered if my daughter would have had red hair and green eyes.
She looked around and there were a great deal of mixed emotions on her face. It was a mixture of wonder and curiosity. I wondered if she was even from the city.
Maybe she wasn't a city girl.
I could have asked her a lot of questions, but there wouldn't have been any point. Asking her questions at a time like this would only make her afraid. The best way to go about this was to just act natural and let her surroundings stimulate her memories.
"Are you hungry?" I asked her.
She looked up at me and seemed to hesitate. I thought it was cute watching her scrunch her nose up as she thought about it. Finally, she nodded.
All she had at the hospital was broth. Broth which she hardly touched. The doctor had told me that she should be able to eat solid food and I hoped that she would. I took her to my car, buckled her into the front seat, put her belongings into the back, and then I started the car.
She looked at me and pointed at her seat belt.
I chuckled. I put on my own seat belt.
The first place we stopped at on the way to my apartment was the local grocery store. I knew what kinds of foods I enjoyed, but I wasn't certain if the young lady had the same tastes as I did. Probably not. I liked the gourmet food served with the fine wines and the fancy deserts. I not only drank wine with my dinner but I also cooked with Jack Daniels. I think I had to change the menu a bit for her sake.
I wondered if that's how it was with fathers. Did they have to change a habit that they were accustomed to in order to change something better for their children? I thought about that. As I looked at the young lady beside me, I knew that she would be worth any amount of changing if it made her happy.
We went inside the store.
I grabbed milk and eggs. Bacon and sausage links. Hotdogs and rolls. I even picked up some OJ and when I saw the price, I realized that it wasn't free at all. Okay. I admit it. That was a very bad pun. Even I have them.
I thought she would have wanted soda pop but she chose bottled water instead. It made me think of the sweetness of soda because if a certain kind of drug were added to the soda, the sweetness of it would disguise the drug.
She didn't seem to like candy either or potato chips, so I decided to stock up on fruits and vegetables. The only sweet stuff I managed to get was a box of Trix, but I think she picked that out because she thought the bunny was cute.
I paid for the groceries, we packed it in the trunk, and then we left. We were both buckled because it was the law and there was a new sheriff with red hair in town who would give you the eye if you didn't buckle. I grinned as I drove to my apartment.
Before we got to my place, however, we had one more stop to make.
The reason we had to stop was because something had caught her full attention and she began to point. At first, I didn't know what she was pointing at. But whatever it was, it was in Commons Park.
I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity for her like this so I pulled over and I parked. We got out and she and I headed into the park. She held my hand and she led me the way. As we got closer to what she had seen she seemed to be both amazed and excited about it. As we stood before it, she couldn't take her eyes away from it.
"It's a tree," I told her. "It's called a Weeping Willow."
The tree was quite tall and the long leaves came out like an umbrella. She let go of my hand and she put her hands through the leaves. I looked at her face and realized that she was thinking hard about something.
I looked at the tree. "Does a Weeping Willow mean anything to you?" I asked her.
She looked at me and puzzled over it some more. She chewed her lower lip and scrunched up her fabulous nose. Whatever she was trying to remember was there. She just couldn't get it.
"Do you want to be called Jane?" I asked her.
She shook her head and made a face as if to say that she did not look like a Jane.
"How about...Willow?" I paused, watching her. "Would you like me to call you Willow?"
She looked at me thoughtfully. Once again, I could see her thinking about it. She looked up at the tree.
"It's a pretty name for a pretty girl. It's also unique. One of a kind." I smiled at her and I shrugged. "I don't know of many girls who have the name 'Willow'."
She smiled for the first time since I saw her and it looked good on her. Her smile was progress.
And I didn't have to call her Jane any more.
No.
Now I would just call her Willow.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
TO BE CONTINUED--
Author: MeB (aka XanWill4Ever-Michael B)
Email: lenoxfiles@hotmail.com
Spoiler: Majority takes place in the summer after the First Season. There are scenes that takes place some time after Lovers Walk from Season 3. There may be some slight AU, but not much.
Summary: Willow loses her memory and finds help from a private investigator in Boston.
Disclaimer: The characters from Spenser For Hire belong to Robert Parker. All characters from Buffy tVS belong to Joss.
Disclaimer Note: The Lost Boys idea is borrowed from the movie "The Lost Boys" which starred Keifer Sutherland. The actual characters in this story are just four vamps who saw the movie and they simply took the name for themselves.
Rating - R - SL/V/AC xwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxw
Please Note-This chapter is the darkest chapter of the story. The scenes are suggestive in nature.
6
JUST OUTSIDE LA
Almost four hours later, they arrived at the Funhouse. The Funhouse was located deep in the woods and it was completely surrounded by the forrest. It was secluded. It was as far removed from civilization as it could be, and that was necessary for then no one could hear the screams of the innocent. An unpaved trail led through the forrest in winding curves. Giles had a hard time just following the path with the Giles-Mobile, but somehow he managed.
When they finally saw this Funhouse looming out of the darkness before them, they were at first filled with relief that they actually found the place. But then that relief turned to apprehension as they realized what they could find within those walls of evil. And it was evil. It was a place of the darkest evil known to man. As they sat in the car and stared at the Funhouse, they could feel the horrible, numbing presence of evil itself. It gave off a foreboding sense of doom. The presence was so strong that they literally felt their hope draining out of their bodies. All hope that they would find Willow alive and unharmed in that awful place evaporated within seconds.
Xander filled his mind with anger as he forcibly shook off the heavy oppression threatening to consume him. He grabbed for the door handle and prepared to open the door.
Angel glanced back at him from the front seat. "Xander. Please...stay in the car."
Xander had the door open, but he didn't get out. He was looking at Angel in disbelief. "Are you crazy? If Will is in there--"
"I will bring her out." Angel looked at Giles. Then he looked toward the Funhouse and he took a deep breath. "Look...we know what kind of a place this is. It's a place to get high and have your pick at the victims of the week. I swear...I don't want either one of you to step one foot in that place."
Giles regarded him. "What do you propose we do? W-we aren't about to sit out here and wait for you to bring Willow out. You might n-need us to help you."
Angel paused in thought. Then he swallowed hard as if he were trying to hold back his revulsion for the Funhouse. "All right...At least wait until I clear the way. Then come in."
"Angel," Xander protested, "we can help you."
Angel shook his head. "I said let me clear the way first. Xander, I know about these places. Most of the people in there are wasted, and there may be three or four guys who are keeping an eye out for trouble. But they are human. They're not demons in there. So I'm betting that once I go in there..." His face abruptly changed to that of his darker side. "...and show my face like this, they'll all come out running."
With that, Angel climbed out of the car and he went through the front door of the Funhouse.
Xander snorted. "Like that's really going to work! How's that going to scare people who are wasted? That doesn't even scare me and I'm not wasted."
Giles glanced back at him, but he didn't say anything.
They both looked toward the Funhouse.
Xander waved his hand impatiently toward the Funhouse. "You see? I don't see--"
Someone came diving through a window on the first floor. Shortly after that, the front door slammed open so hard that it nearly came off from its hinges. People came pouring out through the front doorway screaming for their lives. Some climbed into vehicles and sped off through the woods. Tires spun on gravel. Some of the vehicles didn't even use the trail. Other people simply ran off and disappeared into the woods.
A few minutes later, silence descended around them. Giles and Xander waited, but no one else came running out of the house.
Giles turned to look at Xander. "Y-you were saying...?"
Xander looked at him, but he didn't respond.
The two men climbed out of the car and they slowly made their approach toward the Funhouse. The door was wide open and as they neared the entrance, a strange, sweet odor struck them. The closer they got to the doorway, the stronger the scent became.
"What is that horrible smell?" Xander asked, trying not to gag.
Giles hesitated. "D-dope. Marijuana. F-for one, anyway...but there are other odors."
There were other odors as they entered cautiously into the Funhouse. Urine. Body odor. Things better left to the imagination. Alcohol. Incense. All mingled together, it made for one horrible odor.
Xander pulled the front of his shirt over his nose and mouth. "What kind of madhouse is this, Giles? These people are sick!"
That's when he and Giles got their first good look at the living room that they had found themselves in. The place was completely trashed. There was garbage all over the place. There were beer cans and uneaten food scattered about. Someone had vomited on the sofa. An assortment of pills and trails of heroin lined the coffee table. There were red pills, yellow pills, green pills, and even bright pink pills and as Xander looked at them, he couldn't help but think of how closely those pills resembled M & M's. But they weren't M & M's. Far from it. And those lines of a white powdery substance was not sugar.
The most horrifying site in the living room was the girl in the corner. She hadn't said anything as they entered, nor had she uttered a sound. Giles and Xander saw her at the same time and they froze in their tracks.
The girls clothes were torn, she was half naked, and she was chained to the wall. There was a collar around her throat and the chain was linked to it.
"Oh...dear God..." Xander said softly. He was on the verge of breaking down. "Giles, is she...?"
Giles knelt beside the girl. Her eyes were vacant and staring. "Wh- whoever she is," he said in a hoarse whisper, "she's alive, Xander."
Xander took a hesitant step closer. "My God, Giles! She's so...young!" There was a catch in his voice. He balled his hands into fists. "This is so wrong! I have never in my life seen anything so wrong." There was a lot of anguish expressed through his words.
Giles turned to look at him.
Xander swallowed a lump in his throat. "A Funhouse, huh?" He wanted to explode. "Well, are we having any fun yet?" he asked sarcastically. He looked around the room. "Dear God...I-I've got to find Willow." He turned away from Giles as his eyes filled with tears.
* * *
Angel heard nothing.
It was as if everything around him except for the horrible sight in front of him ceased to exist. He found himself staring in horror at what he had discovered in the basement. There was so much blood. It was all over what he saw, and great puddles were on the floor.
Upon entering the basement, the first sensation that hit him was the sense of smell. He had been struck with the odor of blood and death. But it was a horrible death and the smell had been so strong, he had almost stumbled down the stairs.
But then he saw the cage hanging by the ceiling. That wasn't where the odor had originated from, but it caught his attention nonetheless. The cage was like a bird cage, but it was big enough to hold a person inside. It was empty now. There were wires wrapped around each of the bars and he wondered about that, however, only for a few seconds.
His eyes had locked onto the horror of his discovery and it froze him where he stood.
So there he was.
Angel simply stood there.
He couldn't bring himself to move.
He found it difficult to breathe.
God help him, he couldn't even force himself to look away.
A single tear began to roll down his face.
So he stood there and he looked. He knew then that no matter how much of a monster he had been when he had no soul, he had never done anything quite like this. And he swore to himself that it would never happen. He was looking at something that could only be a heinous act of sheer brutality, and yet there was something that made this deed even that much more horrible. For this act had not been committed by demons. Or vampires. From them, such acts could be expected.
But, no.
This was an evil that man did.
Human beings did this.
And then his eyes wandered to the cage hanging above the floor. He didn't know why, but he thought that Willow might have been trapped in that cage and that she might have seen with her own pure, innocent eyes the horror of what had been done here.
Angel wanted to scream. He wanted to cry out to the heavens and demand justice, but all that escaped from his lips was a soft gasp and a groan of anguish. He was shaking.
Dear God, help me! Angel thought. He was so dangerously close to falling into his own rage. The thought crossed his mind that if Willow had met a fate like this one, he would kill every goddamn last one of them. There would be no place on earth where they could hide. He would do it, at the risk of losing his own soul.
He buried his face in his hands and he tried to breathe. "Oh, God...please don't let Willow go through this..." He was horribly shaking from what he saw.
Then he heard something.
Someone was on the stairs.
"Angel..." Xander called. "Did you find Willow?"
Angel quickly moved to the bottom of the stairs and he raised his hand. "Stay there, Xander! Don't you come down here!"
Xander stopped half way down the staircase. It registered in his mind that he had never seen Angel so visibly shaken before. But he was painfully aware of something else.
That horrible stench of death.
He looked at Angel and swallowed. He felt like he wanted to throw up. "Oh, God...y-you found her, didn't you? You found Willow!"
Angel shook his head. "No...I-it's not Willow."
Hope flashed across Xander's face as behind him, Giles appeared in the doorway of the basement.
"Please...don't come down here," Angel pleaded. "Both of you...just stay back."
Xander took a step down. "What did you find, Angel? W-what did they do?"
"You don't want to know."
Xander hesitated. Was it morbid curiosity or did he want to know what the future held for Willow? He took another step down.
Suddenly, Angel raced up the steps toward Xander. Before Xander could even stop him, Angel grabbed him and literally carried him out of the basement. He brushed past a stunned Giles and carried Xander right out through the front doorway and out into the night. Without warning, he tossed Xander to the ground.
Xander was furious. By the time he managed to get to his feet, he was ready to let Angel have it. But the look on Angel's face stopped him cold.
"I may be a monster to you, Xander," Angel said, a tremor in his voice, "but I will NOT let you see that! And I swear to God, I won't let that happen to Willow."
Xander stared at him. He was horrified. "Angel...w-what if we're too late? What if it already happened?"
Angel tried hard too keep his emotions in check. But there was a dangerous look in his eyes. "Then I will become the monster you accuse me of being."
Xander regarded him. For a long time, he just couldn't take his eyes off from the vampire with a soul. Finally, he said, "I'm sorry, Angel." He shook his head. He was stunned about what he was going to say, but deep inside, he knew it must be true. "You're not the monster here. I-I don't know what you saw...but I can figure it out." He hesitated. "You're sure it...it wasn't Willow?"
Angel nodded. He paused. "I-I think it might be Kali."
Xander closed his eyes. He didn't even know this Kali, but he felt like crying anyway.
Angel swallowed a lump in his throat as he tried to regain his composure. "I...I thought I saw everything." He looked at Xander. "I was wrong." He grit his teeth. "It...it makes me sick."
Xander didn't know what to say.
"Quite right," Giles replied as he came walking out of the house. He had a cell phone in his hand. And he was as pale as a ghost. "I find th-that it makes me ill as well."
Angel turned to look at him. "You saw...?" he trailed off.
Giles nodded. "I-I did." He looked at Angel sadly. He was shaking. "Angel...you m-may be many things. B-but I do know that you care. Believe it or not, that...that says a lot about you." He took off his glasses and wiped at his eyes. Then he took a deep breath, and he put his glasses back on. "If you really want to know, Xander, a-about the worst kind of monster there is in the world, I can tell you. The worst kind of monster or demon will not be in a-any of the books at the library. You can't research this kind of monster for it is the worst kind and there is none like it." He paused. "The worst kind of demon is a human being who can do this despicable act of evil to another human being." He was referring to what he had seen in the basement.
Xander swallowed. "Angel said it wasn't Willow."
"I-it wasn't. Whoever it was had b-blonde hair." Giles paused as he thought for a fleeting moment about Buffy. He was glad she was spared from this. "I'm afraid i-it may have been this Kali." He looked down at the cell phone in his hand.
"What are you going to do with that?" Xander asked.
"I'm going to call the police."
Angel hesitated. "We can't stay here, Giles. We have a flight to catch."
Giles nodded. "We'll catch that flight, Angel. B-but we have to call the proper authorities and tell them to get here. Th-there is still a girl in there who can be taken from this place, and perhaps she can even recover...some day."
Angel nodded his head.
Giles dialed 911 in the cell phone. ____________________________________________________
BOSTON
Hawk went to his penthouse apartment and he stood in his doorway. He stood there for a long time as if he were waiting for something. He didn't turn the lights on. He didn't move. But his eyes took in everything and his ears were listening to his surroundings.
He heard Little Mikey even before he saw him. The so-called Lost Boy was behind the curtain at the open window, and he was standing still. But the fool was trying to hiss quietly.
Hawk never understood why they did that hissing sound. It wasn't even scary.
Hawk stepped into his apartment and he closed the door behind him. The apartment slipped into darkness and Little Mikey lunged at him. Hawk rose his foot and caught the fool in the throat with a swift kick. The kick caused Little Mikey to fall on the floor onto his back and when he was down, Hawk moved in.
He picked up the little guy by his collar and slammed him hard against the wall. Then he dragged him into the kitchen. As he did, he would slam his head into a wall or counter top or whatever suited his needs. Little Mikey was flailing about, but he was just no match for Hawk. Hawk slammed him one more time, and Little Mikey went to dreamland.
When Little Mikey woke up, he was tied to a chair and he was on the patio. His fangs were revealed as he glared at Hawk with yellow eyes of hatred.
"Let me go!" he declared.
Hawk looked at him. "Tell me who wants the girl."
"Go to hell!"
Hawk showed him a nice big set of pliers. "Who is after the girl?"
Little Mikey blinked at the pliers. "Hey...uh...wh-what are you going to do with those?"
"I'm only a bad ass at night, blood. During the day, I do dentistry."
Little Mikey swallowed. "I-is this a joke?"
"Let's see if you think the joke is funny after I do this."
The "this" was Hawk forcing open Little Mikey's mouth and ripping out a fang with the pliers. Little Mikey cried, whimpered, and begged. Then he told Hawk who was after the girl. Of course, this was after Hawk had removed all of his teeth.
"I'm un pun, mon," Little Mikey said.
"Don't worry. I have one of nature's best sedatives for you, man," Hawk told him.
Little Mikey looked at him. "Huh?"
"The sun will be up soon."
Little Mikey looked out and saw that Hawk was right. The sun was just beginning to rise. He looked at Hawk and pleaded with him.
Hawk shook his head. "I just can't stand a whimpering dead boy." Without warning, he grabbed a hold of Little Mikey's head and he twisted hard. There was a loud snap and Hawk found himself holding onto the vampire's head.
The body fell to dust, and then the head followed its fate. Hawk dusted himself off and he looked at the results of his work. "Damn," he said softly. "Gotta give the cleaning lady a bigger tip for the extra vacuuming she'll have to do."
* * *
Somehow, she trusted me. I didn't fully understand why she did, but I was glad she could find it within her to trust someone. It would be a horrible thing to go through something without having someone there for support.
I understood that my Jane Doe needed something and I think that she understood that I needed something, too. It was like we each had a hole in out lives that needed filling. She seemed to recognize that there was something wrong with me. She sensed my illness somehow, at least, even though she didn't know what it was. And I really don't know of any other way to explain how I knew this other than to say that it was in her green eyes.
She had the most beautiful, expressive green eyes I had ever seen. I believe she was fully capable of speaking volumes with those eyes and in the beginning, I was able to learn a little of what she was trying to communicate to me through her eyes.
The hospital was gracious enough to donate clothes and other necessities for her before we left that morning. I was given a Xanax prescription for her anxiety and she was supposed to take it twice a day. That was already a hurdle we had to get over.
She had refused to take the first pill.
She had been given the pill and a cup of water and she didn't touch either one. There they were on the surface of her tray within easy reach. She just didn't reach for it. She didn't push it away either. She just looked at it.
Then she looked at me.
I saw her fear, her confusion, and her desperation in her eyes and I felt badly for her. I also believed I knew why she wouldn't take the pill. She had been drugged before this, but against her will. She may not have remembered the details, and yet her subconscious mind recognized something.
I smiled reassuringly at her. "You don't have to take it if you don't want to."
She didn't want to, so she didn't take it.
About an hour later, we were standing together outside the hospital with the morning sun shining upon us. I felt different somehow. As I looked down at Jane Doe, I wondered if my daughter would have had red hair and green eyes.
She looked around and there were a great deal of mixed emotions on her face. It was a mixture of wonder and curiosity. I wondered if she was even from the city.
Maybe she wasn't a city girl.
I could have asked her a lot of questions, but there wouldn't have been any point. Asking her questions at a time like this would only make her afraid. The best way to go about this was to just act natural and let her surroundings stimulate her memories.
"Are you hungry?" I asked her.
She looked up at me and seemed to hesitate. I thought it was cute watching her scrunch her nose up as she thought about it. Finally, she nodded.
All she had at the hospital was broth. Broth which she hardly touched. The doctor had told me that she should be able to eat solid food and I hoped that she would. I took her to my car, buckled her into the front seat, put her belongings into the back, and then I started the car.
She looked at me and pointed at her seat belt.
I chuckled. I put on my own seat belt.
The first place we stopped at on the way to my apartment was the local grocery store. I knew what kinds of foods I enjoyed, but I wasn't certain if the young lady had the same tastes as I did. Probably not. I liked the gourmet food served with the fine wines and the fancy deserts. I not only drank wine with my dinner but I also cooked with Jack Daniels. I think I had to change the menu a bit for her sake.
I wondered if that's how it was with fathers. Did they have to change a habit that they were accustomed to in order to change something better for their children? I thought about that. As I looked at the young lady beside me, I knew that she would be worth any amount of changing if it made her happy.
We went inside the store.
I grabbed milk and eggs. Bacon and sausage links. Hotdogs and rolls. I even picked up some OJ and when I saw the price, I realized that it wasn't free at all. Okay. I admit it. That was a very bad pun. Even I have them.
I thought she would have wanted soda pop but she chose bottled water instead. It made me think of the sweetness of soda because if a certain kind of drug were added to the soda, the sweetness of it would disguise the drug.
She didn't seem to like candy either or potato chips, so I decided to stock up on fruits and vegetables. The only sweet stuff I managed to get was a box of Trix, but I think she picked that out because she thought the bunny was cute.
I paid for the groceries, we packed it in the trunk, and then we left. We were both buckled because it was the law and there was a new sheriff with red hair in town who would give you the eye if you didn't buckle. I grinned as I drove to my apartment.
Before we got to my place, however, we had one more stop to make.
The reason we had to stop was because something had caught her full attention and she began to point. At first, I didn't know what she was pointing at. But whatever it was, it was in Commons Park.
I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity for her like this so I pulled over and I parked. We got out and she and I headed into the park. She held my hand and she led me the way. As we got closer to what she had seen she seemed to be both amazed and excited about it. As we stood before it, she couldn't take her eyes away from it.
"It's a tree," I told her. "It's called a Weeping Willow."
The tree was quite tall and the long leaves came out like an umbrella. She let go of my hand and she put her hands through the leaves. I looked at her face and realized that she was thinking hard about something.
I looked at the tree. "Does a Weeping Willow mean anything to you?" I asked her.
She looked at me and puzzled over it some more. She chewed her lower lip and scrunched up her fabulous nose. Whatever she was trying to remember was there. She just couldn't get it.
"Do you want to be called Jane?" I asked her.
She shook her head and made a face as if to say that she did not look like a Jane.
"How about...Willow?" I paused, watching her. "Would you like me to call you Willow?"
She looked at me thoughtfully. Once again, I could see her thinking about it. She looked up at the tree.
"It's a pretty name for a pretty girl. It's also unique. One of a kind." I smiled at her and I shrugged. "I don't know of many girls who have the name 'Willow'."
She smiled for the first time since I saw her and it looked good on her. Her smile was progress.
And I didn't have to call her Jane any more.
No.
Now I would just call her Willow.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
TO BE CONTINUED--