Title: Hurricane, Chapter 3: Sheets of Rain
Author: Sandy S.
E-mail: ssoennin@juno.com
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All belongs to Joss and UPN.
Spoilers: Set a few years after season 6
Dedication: For Thia...who is a new and dear friend and whose creativity
inspires me! :o)
Summary: Dawn, a lot of blood, a disappearance, a search. Buffy's worst
nightmare comes true. Dawn's POV. And Daniel is the same character from
"The Admirer," which in this time line took place approximately six months
ago.
Sheets of Rain
"Alas! how easily things go wrong!
A sigh too deep or a kiss too long,
And then comes a mist and a weeping rain,
And life is never the same again."
-From "Phantastes" by George MacDonald
"The soft drops of rain pierce the hard marble; many strokes overthrow the tallest oaks."
-From "Euphues" by John Lyly
"So, do they ever check on us?" I asked the man sitting next to me on the one platform in the tiny closet of a room that could serve as a bed. The room was lit by a dim lightbulb and smelled like Spike's car before he cleaned up the backseat...like a mix of stale alcohol and dried blood. I felt sort of nauseous at the thought. My clothes were missing, and I was wearing an ugly grey sweat suit.
Mr. Anderson rubbed his balding head with his right hand as he replied, "Only to feed us, but I never actually see them. Just the brown bags that slip through the crack in the door."
"Oh." The situation was becoming more and more dismal, and I'd only been awake for two or three hours. Of that time, Mr. Anderson had been conscious ten minutes. All he told me was that we were being imprisoned by a group of men.
I started pacing back and forth out of nervousness, a habit I'd probably learned from Spike. Mr. Anderson watched me dully.
"You know, I can't really remember what happened to get me here. I mean, I was walking into the house with Spike after we went driving and then...nothing!" I threw my arms wide to emphasize the "nothing" part. "It's like a whole chunk of time is missing from my brain!"
"I have memory loss, too." My fellow captive was unfazed by my flustered behavior.
I halted in mid-pace and glanced at Mr. Anderson. "How'd you get here?"
"Same as everyone else," he replied flatly. "The same way as you. I was working late at the office and got up to make a pot of coffee. Next thing I knew, I was here."
"Everyone else? How many else? Who else?"
"There's about twenty or thirty of us. All men. Some are my work competitors." He seemed to consider something for a moment. Then, he met my eyes with his own. "But, you're the only young girl. That's strange." His affect was so flat that he made "strange" sound like an everyday occurrence...well, not that strange things weren't normal in my life.
"Who do you work for?" I questioned.
"No one. I'm the president of my business. It's an international software company."
"Oh." The gears were clicking in my head. "Oh!" I was off in my own little world again as I realized what was happening. "We're being held by that stupid gang of vamps!"
Mr. Anderson responded with disbelief, "Vamps? As in v-vampires?" Somehow he seemed to shrink further into himself.
Resuming my back and forth march, I continued talking to myself, "Why didn't I see it sooner? But, why would they be after me? Well, duh, cause they want to get to Buffy!"
My eyes started traveling over the room. "I've gotta figure a way out of here."
In that instant, the locked door swung open. "There is no way out," a well-known voice stated.
As I recognized the person behind the vampire game face, a fist connected with the side of my head, and I slipped into unconsciousness.
* * *
"Is she awake?" a deep voice snarled.
"Not yet, sir," the familiar somewhat higher pitched voice sounded far away. Large, cold hands grasped my shoulders and roughly shook me. "Dawn! Wake up! Dawnnniiiie!"
The sting of a palm across my face stunned me fully awake. Blinking my eyes in the low lighting, I found myself kneeling on a tile floor and staring up at a human face...at....
"Daniel?"
"Yea, gorgeous, it's me," he greeted, using his familiar nickname for me.
At the sight of someone I knew and trusted, relief washed over me. "W-what happened? Where am I? How did you get me out?"
"Take a look around, Dawn." He traced my cheekbone with a cool finger. "You'll see."
Then, I remembered that Daniel's skull had been twisted and deformed and his teeth pointed and long before he knocked me out. Eyes wide, I surveyed the candle lit room. Five vampires in their game face formed a semi-circle around me. They remained as silent as statues. Each was dressed in solid black and wore a large silver charm on a heavy chain. Another figure stood apart from the group, wearing tailored clothing. Although he was in human face, I assumed he was also a vampire. Further in the shadows, I detected a small movement and glimpsed a dark form, but I was distracted when Daniel spoke again.
"Garrek, this one has special powers...like I told you." Daniel placed a heavy hand on my shoulder.
The well-dressed vampire approached me, circling me and staring me down with dark black eyes. The magic radiated from him. A vampire who was also a warlock?
"Ahhh. You're right, Daniel." Garrek squatted before me. "Good work, son."
Daniel's grip on my shoulder loosened and lifted as he stepped back from me. Simultaneously, Garrek leaned toward me. The aura of lilacs and peppermint encased my mind, making me relax. As I let my muscles loosen and my wariness decrease, I felt something poking at the edge of my thoughts...like the tiniest pinpricks...urging me to part the walls that held the me that I knew together...to display myself to...this vampire.... With that thought, the boundaries in my mind cemented closed again. Garrek was trying to enthrall me...to get inside and manipulate my thoughts and feelings! But, Spike had taught me to evade the thrall with ease.
My face was determined, and I spat in Garrek's face.
To my chagrin, he laughed, wiped his face with one hand, and stood, clapping his other hand on Daniel's back. "Oh, Daniel, my boy, she does have power! I'm glad you did not let us kill her as planned. She will be of great help. She a friend of yours?"
Daniel nodded.
"Why don't you take care of her until we can crack her. I'll call for her when I need her." Garrek dismissed Daniel with a wave of his hand.
"What about the slayer?" Daniel asked. My ears perked to hear the response.
"She's out of the way. Don't trouble yourself." One of the other vampires in the room handed Garrek a flask and goblet. He poured himself a glass of thick fluid, probably blood.
"But, but, couldn't she find us with a simple location spell?"
Instantly, Garrek flashed into game face. His eyes remained black as night, and his voice deepened into an eerie, threatening tone. "Dare you question me? Do you not think I have the power to block a simple location spell?"
Daniel bowed his head and backed away in abasement. His fingers dug into my arm, drawing me to my feet. He said nothing.
Garrek turned toward the other vampires who were clustering around him. "So, tell me about the operation in L.A. Did the takeover of sector twenty-five go smoothly?"
* * *
Daniel forced me along in front of him until we reached a small bedroom that lacked windows. He propelled me into the room, and I pitched forward onto the bed. He flicked on a lamp that rested on the bedside table before shutting and locking the door. As he neared me, I began to tremble. He gently brushed a lock of my hair aside, and I flinched when his cool finger contacted my skin.
He backed away, putting his hands up with his palms toward me. "Hey, Dawnie. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."
"What happened to you, Daniel?" I was terrified, but my voice was steady. I tried to remind myself that Daniel was no longer my friend from high school but a dangerous creature who would kill me in a heartbeat.
"What do you think, little Miss Slayer's sister?" Daniel turned away from me and strode to the other side of the room.
Keeping my focus on him, I sighed, replying, "You were turned. When?"
Daniel was throwing some objects into what appeared to be his backpack from school. "Let's just say, I was hanging out in the hospital one night watching over my sister." Daniel's sister was addicted to drugs and had been overdosing often of late.
"And?"
Searching for something he wasn't finding, he grunted in impatience. His voice was strained as he bent over and looked under the bed. "And, I made friends with this guy who was in the hospital waiting room. We swapped stories. He bit me. The end."
"Daniel, where are we?" I wanted information.
"In New Orleans," he revealed. "In the back of a jazz club called 'The Lean Monkey.'"
An object about nine inches long flew through the air at me. "Catch," Daniel said lightly.
My hand flew up automatically, and I drew down a wooden stake. I thought I was surprised to see Daniel as a vampire. I was even more surprised that he was handing me a weapon that could kill him. "Daniel, what's going on?"
"Guess." He smiled at me, shouldering the backpack. I felt the usual rush of emotions I felt when I was close to him. Daniel was the big crush of my high school years with his dark hair, deep brown eyes, and well- defined body. Apparently, he still had a hold on me.
I changed my question. "Why are you helping me?"
"Because that Garrek is one fucked up dude."
*Vampire.* Daniel was a vampire. He never used to curse. "Oh." I paused. "What do you mean?"
"He doesn't recognize my potential. I have first hand knowledge of the Slayer, and he hardly acknowledges me! I'm taking his latest prized possession...you...and striking out on my own."
Okay, that sounded more like a vampire.
"So, why did you tell him about the energy inside me if he's so messed up?" Being one of my ex-best friends, Daniel knew that I was once a mystical key that almost opened the doorway to a hell dimension and that I contained some kind of untapped, supernatural energy.
"I thought I would finally get some appreciation around here! But, I guess not!"
He switched off the lamp, so we were folded into the darkness. In case he decided to attack me, I gripped the stake firmly. As my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, he unlocked and re-opened the door to his room. I didn't move.
"Are you coming, or what?" he asked, glaring at me impatiently.
I hopped to my feet and proceeded through the doorway. I figured I could take on one vamp better than an unknown number of vamps with a warlock as the leader. I held up the stake as I passed him. "And you gave me a stake because...?" As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I could've kicked myself for asking the question.
"Oh, I know you couldn't kill me, Dawnie," he whispered, his breath flowing over my earlobe, causing me to shiver. "You know me too well...like Spike. And, I've seen you dust other vamps. You're pretty handy with a stake."
* * *
Live jazz music floated and bumped around the large, crowded lounge and bar. A neon sign of a skinny monkey playing a saxophone hung behind the band. The audience was surprisingly human. Therefore, I blended well with the gathering as Daniel led me out of the vampire hideout, through the clouds of smoke and hazy lights, and onto the streets of New Orleans.
The humidity was smothering after being in the air-conditioned club, and I felt like I was inhaling liquid. The nightlife was abuzz in the streets of the French Quarter, and I was greeted by an alien accumulation of unusual sights, sounds, and smells as Daniel tugged me down St. Peter's Street toward the busier Bourbon Street where we could hide.
St. Paul's Cathedral rose up like a white giant to my right, and I could not help staring at the large building that starkly contrasted with the surrounding architecture. When Daniel jerked me to the left, I almost ran into the wraith-like figure of a homeless woman who was muttering incoherently to herself. My eyes went wide at the row of artists selling their water color and oil paintings on the side of the road and at the fortune tellers who shot me beguiling smiles as if to beckon me closer. A bereft and filthy child sat on the edge of the sidewalk, holding a sign that said how hungry she was. Her gaze met mine, and I wished I had something to give her. Daniel hurried me past a little courtyard restaurant that sold hot bowls of cajun gumbo and a piano bar selling an alcoholic beverage called a hurricane.
As we approached Bourbon Street, the raw stench of urine and beer almost made me gag. I witnessed a man stagger and almost fall only to be caught by a woman who held him up. Another young woman about my age was squatting in the gutter and throwing up on her shoes. Exiting a strip bar, a prostitute covered in tattoos wiggled her way down the street and entered the orgy house. Amidst the drunken crowd were parents with small children who were taking everything in with round, innocent eyes.
Without any indication, Daniel directed me rapidly into a nearby hotel lobby. His face suggested a new tension. We hastened by an older couple dressed in formal clothing and halted in a darkened corridor near a curtained window that overlooked Bourbon Street. Daniel was shaking as he peeked around the curtain.
"Why are we here?" I asked, worriedly. "What's wrong?"
"One of Garrek's men," he said tersely, "is out there."
Pressing against Daniel's chest, I tried to see what Daniel viewed. One of the tall vampires who had been in the room with Garrek stood just across the busy street. He clutched a walkie talkie similar to the one Riley, Buffy's ex-boyfriend, used to carry on demon raids when he worked for the Initiative, a government operation that had come years ago to Sunnydale to study demons.
Several minutes later, Daniel whispered, "He's gone."
We made our way out of the hotel lobby and onto the street once more. Rushing by a small horse drawn carriage that people were climbing into for night tours of the French Quarter, we came across a small, unlocked car near Burgandy Street. I opened the driver's side door and slid onto the leather seat. Daniel climbed into the passenger's side. He watched with awe as I yanked some wires out of the dashboard and started the car in a matter of seconds.
"H-how did you do that?" he wondered.
I smiled. "Spike taught me." When Daniel still appeared baffled, I added proudly, "First driving lesson. He wanted to make sure I knew what to do in an emergency. Willow will be probably be a little angry. I did this in her car."
"Oh." He remained stunned for a moment. Then, putting on his game face to intimidate me, he demanded, "Get out. I'm in charge. I'm going to drive."
I quickly obeyed and ran around the front of the car to sit where Daniel was located. Before I could get into the car, however, something metal jabbed into my back.
The vampire's voice was harsh, "Okay! Come on. We're taking you back to the Lean Monkey."
A second vampire materialized out of the nearby shadows and hauled Daniel out of the car. He was the one Daniel and I had seen out of the hotel window. After he secured Daniel, he activated the walkie talkie.
"We have them. We're ready to bring them back for transport."
End chapter 3
**Note: Garrek means "oak spear." Daniel's death was foreshadowed in "The Admirer." Also, all the places that were referred to in New Orleans are real places except for The Lean Monkey.**
Sheets of Rain
"Alas! how easily things go wrong!
A sigh too deep or a kiss too long,
And then comes a mist and a weeping rain,
And life is never the same again."
-From "Phantastes" by George MacDonald
"The soft drops of rain pierce the hard marble; many strokes overthrow the tallest oaks."
-From "Euphues" by John Lyly
"So, do they ever check on us?" I asked the man sitting next to me on the one platform in the tiny closet of a room that could serve as a bed. The room was lit by a dim lightbulb and smelled like Spike's car before he cleaned up the backseat...like a mix of stale alcohol and dried blood. I felt sort of nauseous at the thought. My clothes were missing, and I was wearing an ugly grey sweat suit.
Mr. Anderson rubbed his balding head with his right hand as he replied, "Only to feed us, but I never actually see them. Just the brown bags that slip through the crack in the door."
"Oh." The situation was becoming more and more dismal, and I'd only been awake for two or three hours. Of that time, Mr. Anderson had been conscious ten minutes. All he told me was that we were being imprisoned by a group of men.
I started pacing back and forth out of nervousness, a habit I'd probably learned from Spike. Mr. Anderson watched me dully.
"You know, I can't really remember what happened to get me here. I mean, I was walking into the house with Spike after we went driving and then...nothing!" I threw my arms wide to emphasize the "nothing" part. "It's like a whole chunk of time is missing from my brain!"
"I have memory loss, too." My fellow captive was unfazed by my flustered behavior.
I halted in mid-pace and glanced at Mr. Anderson. "How'd you get here?"
"Same as everyone else," he replied flatly. "The same way as you. I was working late at the office and got up to make a pot of coffee. Next thing I knew, I was here."
"Everyone else? How many else? Who else?"
"There's about twenty or thirty of us. All men. Some are my work competitors." He seemed to consider something for a moment. Then, he met my eyes with his own. "But, you're the only young girl. That's strange." His affect was so flat that he made "strange" sound like an everyday occurrence...well, not that strange things weren't normal in my life.
"Who do you work for?" I questioned.
"No one. I'm the president of my business. It's an international software company."
"Oh." The gears were clicking in my head. "Oh!" I was off in my own little world again as I realized what was happening. "We're being held by that stupid gang of vamps!"
Mr. Anderson responded with disbelief, "Vamps? As in v-vampires?" Somehow he seemed to shrink further into himself.
Resuming my back and forth march, I continued talking to myself, "Why didn't I see it sooner? But, why would they be after me? Well, duh, cause they want to get to Buffy!"
My eyes started traveling over the room. "I've gotta figure a way out of here."
In that instant, the locked door swung open. "There is no way out," a well-known voice stated.
As I recognized the person behind the vampire game face, a fist connected with the side of my head, and I slipped into unconsciousness.
* * *
"Is she awake?" a deep voice snarled.
"Not yet, sir," the familiar somewhat higher pitched voice sounded far away. Large, cold hands grasped my shoulders and roughly shook me. "Dawn! Wake up! Dawnnniiiie!"
The sting of a palm across my face stunned me fully awake. Blinking my eyes in the low lighting, I found myself kneeling on a tile floor and staring up at a human face...at....
"Daniel?"
"Yea, gorgeous, it's me," he greeted, using his familiar nickname for me.
At the sight of someone I knew and trusted, relief washed over me. "W-what happened? Where am I? How did you get me out?"
"Take a look around, Dawn." He traced my cheekbone with a cool finger. "You'll see."
Then, I remembered that Daniel's skull had been twisted and deformed and his teeth pointed and long before he knocked me out. Eyes wide, I surveyed the candle lit room. Five vampires in their game face formed a semi-circle around me. They remained as silent as statues. Each was dressed in solid black and wore a large silver charm on a heavy chain. Another figure stood apart from the group, wearing tailored clothing. Although he was in human face, I assumed he was also a vampire. Further in the shadows, I detected a small movement and glimpsed a dark form, but I was distracted when Daniel spoke again.
"Garrek, this one has special powers...like I told you." Daniel placed a heavy hand on my shoulder.
The well-dressed vampire approached me, circling me and staring me down with dark black eyes. The magic radiated from him. A vampire who was also a warlock?
"Ahhh. You're right, Daniel." Garrek squatted before me. "Good work, son."
Daniel's grip on my shoulder loosened and lifted as he stepped back from me. Simultaneously, Garrek leaned toward me. The aura of lilacs and peppermint encased my mind, making me relax. As I let my muscles loosen and my wariness decrease, I felt something poking at the edge of my thoughts...like the tiniest pinpricks...urging me to part the walls that held the me that I knew together...to display myself to...this vampire.... With that thought, the boundaries in my mind cemented closed again. Garrek was trying to enthrall me...to get inside and manipulate my thoughts and feelings! But, Spike had taught me to evade the thrall with ease.
My face was determined, and I spat in Garrek's face.
To my chagrin, he laughed, wiped his face with one hand, and stood, clapping his other hand on Daniel's back. "Oh, Daniel, my boy, she does have power! I'm glad you did not let us kill her as planned. She will be of great help. She a friend of yours?"
Daniel nodded.
"Why don't you take care of her until we can crack her. I'll call for her when I need her." Garrek dismissed Daniel with a wave of his hand.
"What about the slayer?" Daniel asked. My ears perked to hear the response.
"She's out of the way. Don't trouble yourself." One of the other vampires in the room handed Garrek a flask and goblet. He poured himself a glass of thick fluid, probably blood.
"But, but, couldn't she find us with a simple location spell?"
Instantly, Garrek flashed into game face. His eyes remained black as night, and his voice deepened into an eerie, threatening tone. "Dare you question me? Do you not think I have the power to block a simple location spell?"
Daniel bowed his head and backed away in abasement. His fingers dug into my arm, drawing me to my feet. He said nothing.
Garrek turned toward the other vampires who were clustering around him. "So, tell me about the operation in L.A. Did the takeover of sector twenty-five go smoothly?"
* * *
Daniel forced me along in front of him until we reached a small bedroom that lacked windows. He propelled me into the room, and I pitched forward onto the bed. He flicked on a lamp that rested on the bedside table before shutting and locking the door. As he neared me, I began to tremble. He gently brushed a lock of my hair aside, and I flinched when his cool finger contacted my skin.
He backed away, putting his hands up with his palms toward me. "Hey, Dawnie. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."
"What happened to you, Daniel?" I was terrified, but my voice was steady. I tried to remind myself that Daniel was no longer my friend from high school but a dangerous creature who would kill me in a heartbeat.
"What do you think, little Miss Slayer's sister?" Daniel turned away from me and strode to the other side of the room.
Keeping my focus on him, I sighed, replying, "You were turned. When?"
Daniel was throwing some objects into what appeared to be his backpack from school. "Let's just say, I was hanging out in the hospital one night watching over my sister." Daniel's sister was addicted to drugs and had been overdosing often of late.
"And?"
Searching for something he wasn't finding, he grunted in impatience. His voice was strained as he bent over and looked under the bed. "And, I made friends with this guy who was in the hospital waiting room. We swapped stories. He bit me. The end."
"Daniel, where are we?" I wanted information.
"In New Orleans," he revealed. "In the back of a jazz club called 'The Lean Monkey.'"
An object about nine inches long flew through the air at me. "Catch," Daniel said lightly.
My hand flew up automatically, and I drew down a wooden stake. I thought I was surprised to see Daniel as a vampire. I was even more surprised that he was handing me a weapon that could kill him. "Daniel, what's going on?"
"Guess." He smiled at me, shouldering the backpack. I felt the usual rush of emotions I felt when I was close to him. Daniel was the big crush of my high school years with his dark hair, deep brown eyes, and well- defined body. Apparently, he still had a hold on me.
I changed my question. "Why are you helping me?"
"Because that Garrek is one fucked up dude."
*Vampire.* Daniel was a vampire. He never used to curse. "Oh." I paused. "What do you mean?"
"He doesn't recognize my potential. I have first hand knowledge of the Slayer, and he hardly acknowledges me! I'm taking his latest prized possession...you...and striking out on my own."
Okay, that sounded more like a vampire.
"So, why did you tell him about the energy inside me if he's so messed up?" Being one of my ex-best friends, Daniel knew that I was once a mystical key that almost opened the doorway to a hell dimension and that I contained some kind of untapped, supernatural energy.
"I thought I would finally get some appreciation around here! But, I guess not!"
He switched off the lamp, so we were folded into the darkness. In case he decided to attack me, I gripped the stake firmly. As my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, he unlocked and re-opened the door to his room. I didn't move.
"Are you coming, or what?" he asked, glaring at me impatiently.
I hopped to my feet and proceeded through the doorway. I figured I could take on one vamp better than an unknown number of vamps with a warlock as the leader. I held up the stake as I passed him. "And you gave me a stake because...?" As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I could've kicked myself for asking the question.
"Oh, I know you couldn't kill me, Dawnie," he whispered, his breath flowing over my earlobe, causing me to shiver. "You know me too well...like Spike. And, I've seen you dust other vamps. You're pretty handy with a stake."
* * *
Live jazz music floated and bumped around the large, crowded lounge and bar. A neon sign of a skinny monkey playing a saxophone hung behind the band. The audience was surprisingly human. Therefore, I blended well with the gathering as Daniel led me out of the vampire hideout, through the clouds of smoke and hazy lights, and onto the streets of New Orleans.
The humidity was smothering after being in the air-conditioned club, and I felt like I was inhaling liquid. The nightlife was abuzz in the streets of the French Quarter, and I was greeted by an alien accumulation of unusual sights, sounds, and smells as Daniel tugged me down St. Peter's Street toward the busier Bourbon Street where we could hide.
St. Paul's Cathedral rose up like a white giant to my right, and I could not help staring at the large building that starkly contrasted with the surrounding architecture. When Daniel jerked me to the left, I almost ran into the wraith-like figure of a homeless woman who was muttering incoherently to herself. My eyes went wide at the row of artists selling their water color and oil paintings on the side of the road and at the fortune tellers who shot me beguiling smiles as if to beckon me closer. A bereft and filthy child sat on the edge of the sidewalk, holding a sign that said how hungry she was. Her gaze met mine, and I wished I had something to give her. Daniel hurried me past a little courtyard restaurant that sold hot bowls of cajun gumbo and a piano bar selling an alcoholic beverage called a hurricane.
As we approached Bourbon Street, the raw stench of urine and beer almost made me gag. I witnessed a man stagger and almost fall only to be caught by a woman who held him up. Another young woman about my age was squatting in the gutter and throwing up on her shoes. Exiting a strip bar, a prostitute covered in tattoos wiggled her way down the street and entered the orgy house. Amidst the drunken crowd were parents with small children who were taking everything in with round, innocent eyes.
Without any indication, Daniel directed me rapidly into a nearby hotel lobby. His face suggested a new tension. We hastened by an older couple dressed in formal clothing and halted in a darkened corridor near a curtained window that overlooked Bourbon Street. Daniel was shaking as he peeked around the curtain.
"Why are we here?" I asked, worriedly. "What's wrong?"
"One of Garrek's men," he said tersely, "is out there."
Pressing against Daniel's chest, I tried to see what Daniel viewed. One of the tall vampires who had been in the room with Garrek stood just across the busy street. He clutched a walkie talkie similar to the one Riley, Buffy's ex-boyfriend, used to carry on demon raids when he worked for the Initiative, a government operation that had come years ago to Sunnydale to study demons.
Several minutes later, Daniel whispered, "He's gone."
We made our way out of the hotel lobby and onto the street once more. Rushing by a small horse drawn carriage that people were climbing into for night tours of the French Quarter, we came across a small, unlocked car near Burgandy Street. I opened the driver's side door and slid onto the leather seat. Daniel climbed into the passenger's side. He watched with awe as I yanked some wires out of the dashboard and started the car in a matter of seconds.
"H-how did you do that?" he wondered.
I smiled. "Spike taught me." When Daniel still appeared baffled, I added proudly, "First driving lesson. He wanted to make sure I knew what to do in an emergency. Willow will be probably be a little angry. I did this in her car."
"Oh." He remained stunned for a moment. Then, putting on his game face to intimidate me, he demanded, "Get out. I'm in charge. I'm going to drive."
I quickly obeyed and ran around the front of the car to sit where Daniel was located. Before I could get into the car, however, something metal jabbed into my back.
The vampire's voice was harsh, "Okay! Come on. We're taking you back to the Lean Monkey."
A second vampire materialized out of the nearby shadows and hauled Daniel out of the car. He was the one Daniel and I had seen out of the hotel window. After he secured Daniel, he activated the walkie talkie.
"We have them. We're ready to bring them back for transport."
End chapter 3
**Note: Garrek means "oak spear." Daniel's death was foreshadowed in "The Admirer." Also, all the places that were referred to in New Orleans are real places except for The Lean Monkey.**