Part 22
"Dawn, get out of here now!" She turned to William. "You take her and keep her safe."
He let go of the table and everything crashed to the floor, drawing attention to their section of the room. It just emphasized the need for haste. "Come on Nibblet. We need to get you out of here." William grasped her arm and pulled her away.
"Wait." She protested. "I don't want to leave Buffy!"
"Big sis can take care of herself. You know that." He told her, then lifted her bodily to carry her toward the back of the room. "Where are the bloody doors out of here?"
Dawn looked around. "They're all blocked! Put me down."
"You're not getting away from me this time. I'm not letting you out of my sight."
"Look!" Dawn pointed to a section of the room between the bleachers and the wall. "There's Janice and some of the others. We can't leave them in here!"
"You're right." William acknowledged. He scanned the room, noting the hundreds of students whom he now felt responsible for. The escape routes all seemed to be blocked. He put Dawn down. "Give me your shoes, Li'l Bit, then go join your friends. I'm going to try to get you all out of here."
Dawn removed her shoes and handed the high-heeled pumps to William. She turned immediately and ran to join the group of girls cowering nearby. William took the first shoe and aimed at the small red fire alarm box mounted on the wall. He missed it by several inches. He took the second shoe and aimed again. Bingo! The clang of the alarm filled the room and the school, causing a momentary distraction. Demons dropped victims grabbed their ears at the sudden earsplitting noise. William ran to the side of the room where the bleachers were folded below the bank of windows. He shooed the cowering students out of the way, grabbing on to a few of the larger boys nearby. "Drag these things out from the wall!" He ordered them.
He judged the distance from the ground to the top riser, then jumped, catching it with his fingertips. The gloves he wore made it hard to hang on, but he needed them. He managed to swing his leg up on top of the riser just before the entire set began to move out from the wall. He quickly punched his covered fists and feet through the windows, taking time to break off the jagged pieces of glass that remained. "Come on!" He shouted to Dawn and her friends. "Get everybody you can and get out of here!"
The students began streaming up the bleachers. He grabbed two of the large boys who had helped to pull them out. "You, out first. It's a long drop, and you'll need to stay under the windows to catch the others." The boys did as ordered, and two-by-two the teens made their exits. William glanced over his shoulder to see how Buffy was faring.
Buffy had managed to break off the other three legs of the table and had armed Xander and Willow with the makeshift stakes. She quickly lost count of the numbers of vamps she dusted, but there were so many that they just kept coming. The stakes would be small protection against the myriad of demons flooding the room. Willow and Xander were losing ground, but fighting valiantly anyway. Xander was using his hook and his plastic sword to good avail, but Willow was nearly defenseless.
"Xander, stop!" Buffy screamed at him as he prepared to run his stake into the chest of an attacker lying on the floor. "That's a human!"
Xander pulled back and contented himself with kicking the guy in the stomach.
Buffy looked back and saw the escape route that William had fashioned. "Get Willow out of here! Go to the Magic Box and tell Giles what's happened."
Xander staked the vampire preparing to bite Willow, then reached for her hand. "Come on Peter Pan. It's time to fly!"
"But Buffy." She began to protest.
"We can't help now. Come on!"
The line of demons made their way to where the kids were making their way out of the room. Soon the wooden bleachers were on fire, blocking the only means of escape. William helped Willow and Xander out through the window, then jumped to the floor just in time to save himself from incineration. His fury fueled his strength as he quickly killed three nearby demons. The sprinkler system kicked in as the smoke detectors picked up on the fire. The floor became slick with water and the crepe paper decorations hung in tatters. The bleachers were now completely engulfed in flames, and the amount of water falling from the ceiling had little impact on the raging fire.
William made his way to Buffy's side. He began to yell for her to watch out for the huge Chirago demon that was about to throw its six-hundred odd pounds on her, but instead began to twitch.
"What's with him?" Buffy asked William.
"Big and smelly things," he sneered. "They hate the water."
Soon the Chirago was sneezing uncontrollably and it began to wail. Slipping and sliding across the floor, it fled the room.
"Big weenie." Buffy observed. She threw William a stake. "Did Dawn make it out?" she asked him as she continued to fight.
"Yeah. She's safe with your Scooby friends." He told her as he dusted a vampire.
"We can't fight them all." She kicked a demon in the neck, satisfied at the loud snap she heard.
"I know." He punched a track-marked junkie in the gut and followed it up with a blow to the nose. The man fell to the floor clutching both his stomach and his face.
"How did you do that?" Buffy asked in surprise.
"Chip doesn't work anymore."
"NOW you think to tell me that?"
"Subject never came up." He shrugged, then turned to take out another junkie. They were an easy group to defeat. Looking at the bloodied faces of their fallen comrades, they turned tail and ran. "Pathetic lot."
"Looks like they didn't need the extra help anyway." Buffy observed calmly.
William looked around at her words. They were completely surrounded by huge, hideous demons. Fyarls and M'Fashniks and Chaos demons were all closing in on them. "I've always hated those bleedin' Chaos demons." He told Buffy.
"Ugh. Slimy!" She said.
"That's my girl."
*****
The door of the Magic Box burst open, and Xander, Willow, and Dawn ran through. "Anya!" Xander called. "Anya, are you here?"
"Down here." She called from the basement steps. "I'll be right up."
"Hurry!" Willow implored.
"What is it?" Anya carried a jar that looked like deep fried beetles.
Xander tried to catch his breath. "Something big just went down at the high school. We need Giles."
"He's up in the loft, cataloguing the new books we just got in today." She turned and yelled up the stairs. "Giles!"
He moved to the railing and peered down at the group. "Were those your lyrical tones, my dear?"
"Yes." Anya said. "We need you down here. Something's wrong."
Giles deposited a stack of large tomes on a research table and walked down. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Demons!" Willow gasped. "Lots of them. They took the school hostage."
"Where's Buffy?"
"She's still inside, with William." Dawn's lower lip trembled. "They're trapped in there with all those." She broke off.
"Oh dear." Giles removed his glasses.
"I can help." Anya said. Giles turned to look at her questioningly. "There's bound to be a bunch of scared children. I'll get Hallie to go with me. They'll be wanting to go home."
Giles nodded to her and she disappeared.
"Now what?" Xander asked.
"I don't know." Giles said. "We've got to think of something."
"Dawn, get out of here now!" She turned to William. "You take her and keep her safe."
He let go of the table and everything crashed to the floor, drawing attention to their section of the room. It just emphasized the need for haste. "Come on Nibblet. We need to get you out of here." William grasped her arm and pulled her away.
"Wait." She protested. "I don't want to leave Buffy!"
"Big sis can take care of herself. You know that." He told her, then lifted her bodily to carry her toward the back of the room. "Where are the bloody doors out of here?"
Dawn looked around. "They're all blocked! Put me down."
"You're not getting away from me this time. I'm not letting you out of my sight."
"Look!" Dawn pointed to a section of the room between the bleachers and the wall. "There's Janice and some of the others. We can't leave them in here!"
"You're right." William acknowledged. He scanned the room, noting the hundreds of students whom he now felt responsible for. The escape routes all seemed to be blocked. He put Dawn down. "Give me your shoes, Li'l Bit, then go join your friends. I'm going to try to get you all out of here."
Dawn removed her shoes and handed the high-heeled pumps to William. She turned immediately and ran to join the group of girls cowering nearby. William took the first shoe and aimed at the small red fire alarm box mounted on the wall. He missed it by several inches. He took the second shoe and aimed again. Bingo! The clang of the alarm filled the room and the school, causing a momentary distraction. Demons dropped victims grabbed their ears at the sudden earsplitting noise. William ran to the side of the room where the bleachers were folded below the bank of windows. He shooed the cowering students out of the way, grabbing on to a few of the larger boys nearby. "Drag these things out from the wall!" He ordered them.
He judged the distance from the ground to the top riser, then jumped, catching it with his fingertips. The gloves he wore made it hard to hang on, but he needed them. He managed to swing his leg up on top of the riser just before the entire set began to move out from the wall. He quickly punched his covered fists and feet through the windows, taking time to break off the jagged pieces of glass that remained. "Come on!" He shouted to Dawn and her friends. "Get everybody you can and get out of here!"
The students began streaming up the bleachers. He grabbed two of the large boys who had helped to pull them out. "You, out first. It's a long drop, and you'll need to stay under the windows to catch the others." The boys did as ordered, and two-by-two the teens made their exits. William glanced over his shoulder to see how Buffy was faring.
Buffy had managed to break off the other three legs of the table and had armed Xander and Willow with the makeshift stakes. She quickly lost count of the numbers of vamps she dusted, but there were so many that they just kept coming. The stakes would be small protection against the myriad of demons flooding the room. Willow and Xander were losing ground, but fighting valiantly anyway. Xander was using his hook and his plastic sword to good avail, but Willow was nearly defenseless.
"Xander, stop!" Buffy screamed at him as he prepared to run his stake into the chest of an attacker lying on the floor. "That's a human!"
Xander pulled back and contented himself with kicking the guy in the stomach.
Buffy looked back and saw the escape route that William had fashioned. "Get Willow out of here! Go to the Magic Box and tell Giles what's happened."
Xander staked the vampire preparing to bite Willow, then reached for her hand. "Come on Peter Pan. It's time to fly!"
"But Buffy." She began to protest.
"We can't help now. Come on!"
The line of demons made their way to where the kids were making their way out of the room. Soon the wooden bleachers were on fire, blocking the only means of escape. William helped Willow and Xander out through the window, then jumped to the floor just in time to save himself from incineration. His fury fueled his strength as he quickly killed three nearby demons. The sprinkler system kicked in as the smoke detectors picked up on the fire. The floor became slick with water and the crepe paper decorations hung in tatters. The bleachers were now completely engulfed in flames, and the amount of water falling from the ceiling had little impact on the raging fire.
William made his way to Buffy's side. He began to yell for her to watch out for the huge Chirago demon that was about to throw its six-hundred odd pounds on her, but instead began to twitch.
"What's with him?" Buffy asked William.
"Big and smelly things," he sneered. "They hate the water."
Soon the Chirago was sneezing uncontrollably and it began to wail. Slipping and sliding across the floor, it fled the room.
"Big weenie." Buffy observed. She threw William a stake. "Did Dawn make it out?" she asked him as she continued to fight.
"Yeah. She's safe with your Scooby friends." He told her as he dusted a vampire.
"We can't fight them all." She kicked a demon in the neck, satisfied at the loud snap she heard.
"I know." He punched a track-marked junkie in the gut and followed it up with a blow to the nose. The man fell to the floor clutching both his stomach and his face.
"How did you do that?" Buffy asked in surprise.
"Chip doesn't work anymore."
"NOW you think to tell me that?"
"Subject never came up." He shrugged, then turned to take out another junkie. They were an easy group to defeat. Looking at the bloodied faces of their fallen comrades, they turned tail and ran. "Pathetic lot."
"Looks like they didn't need the extra help anyway." Buffy observed calmly.
William looked around at her words. They were completely surrounded by huge, hideous demons. Fyarls and M'Fashniks and Chaos demons were all closing in on them. "I've always hated those bleedin' Chaos demons." He told Buffy.
"Ugh. Slimy!" She said.
"That's my girl."
*****
The door of the Magic Box burst open, and Xander, Willow, and Dawn ran through. "Anya!" Xander called. "Anya, are you here?"
"Down here." She called from the basement steps. "I'll be right up."
"Hurry!" Willow implored.
"What is it?" Anya carried a jar that looked like deep fried beetles.
Xander tried to catch his breath. "Something big just went down at the high school. We need Giles."
"He's up in the loft, cataloguing the new books we just got in today." She turned and yelled up the stairs. "Giles!"
He moved to the railing and peered down at the group. "Were those your lyrical tones, my dear?"
"Yes." Anya said. "We need you down here. Something's wrong."
Giles deposited a stack of large tomes on a research table and walked down. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Demons!" Willow gasped. "Lots of them. They took the school hostage."
"Where's Buffy?"
"She's still inside, with William." Dawn's lower lip trembled. "They're trapped in there with all those." She broke off.
"Oh dear." Giles removed his glasses.
"I can help." Anya said. Giles turned to look at her questioningly. "There's bound to be a bunch of scared children. I'll get Hallie to go with me. They'll be wanting to go home."
Giles nodded to her and she disappeared.
"Now what?" Xander asked.
"I don't know." Giles said. "We've got to think of something."