A/N: And because you're all so kind in your reviews, here's yet another chapter as I avoid the Jubilee TV on at the moment. Thank god Angel's starting on channel 4 on Saturday...;-) My life is complete! Lots of lovely TV...
NOTE TO FANFREAK: Gracia hasn't had chance to tell Angel and Spike about the fight. She only found out about it that morning. Therefore, she got Keisha to tell them for her.
Disclaimer: Not Joss, am I? Just a poor fanfiction writer with £1.50 and a set of borrowed Nightworld books. **On knees, begging** Take pity on me!
Dedication: Everybody who's reviewed the last chapter and all the ones before that. Let's get me up to sixty reviews, shall we?
********************************************************************************
Luke sat with his feet kicked up on the table, watching with a little amusement as Keisha paced back and forth, wringing her hands slightly and chewing her lip. Eventually, she halted, and looked straight at him.
"Luke!" she wailed. "Quit sitting there grinning and CARE for once!"
He cocked an eyebrow but didn't loose his small smile. "You mean about Angel?"
"Yes, I-" She stopped suddenly as she realised the trap and her brother smiled wider. "About Angel and Gracia." She approached Luke, lowering her voice so that the Watcher would not hear. "Gracia has to fight all these vampires. Angel hasn't shown. You don't think that's even a little bit of an omen?"
"Keisha!" Luke groaned, voice also low. "The sun isn't even properly down yet! Angel just wants to play it safe, that's all."
She sighed. "I guess. But still..."
It was then that Cecelia stalked in rapidly from her office, ignoring the twins at first although they watched her come in, their discussion breaking up. Was it Luke's imagination, or were Cecelia's hard silver eyes a little...wild? Nervous, perhaps, apprehensive somehow. Then he mentally shook himself. It couldn't be anything.
Then the blonde Watcher turned and glared at them both through her squarish glasses. Her voice was cold and commanding as she spoke.
"You two, I see no reason for your being here. Leave."
"Uh, why?" Keisha couldn't help but ask that with even a little of her dislike for Cecelia in her voice. "Technically, we're still permitted to be on campus for about another half hour. Principal Walker put it down in the rules at the end of last term, so we could all use the research facilities for our homework."
Cecelia's eyes flashed. "I told you to leave," she said, voice as disdainful as ever. "You shall do as I say, and I have the power to make you do it."
"We'll just ask the principal then." Luke replied. The Watcher's eyes flicked to his dirty trainers up on the table then to his face. She took in the pair of them, standing and sitting there, watching her calmly. She snorted, turned on her heel, and carried on with her business. When she disappeared into the far bookshelves, Keisha sat next to her brother, leant over to his ear and whispered.
"Still, I think Angel should know as soon as possible where Gracia is. He worries, you know."
Luke sighed and removed his feet from the table with a roll of his eyes. "I'm not going to get any peace, am I? Alright, I'll see if I can catch him before he gets to the school. I'll come back by proper darkness if he hasn't shown. You stay here."
Keisha managed a smile as Luke picked up his jacket and went to leave. "Thanks." she whispered, ever cautious of the Watcher.
********************************************************************************
Angel came out of his apartment as soon as it was safe enough. He still kept to the darker areas to avoid possible burning from the very-nearly over sunset. His eyes were troubled as he quickened his pace. Something really wasn't right.
Suddenly, about two blocks from the school, he stopped and turned just as something launched itself at his throat.
He backhanded it away from himself, making it fall the pavement with a heavy thud. A vampire girl in game face, long hair wild as she picked herself up to join the other five approaching. They had managed to enclose Angel in a ring, each one armed with something. Two held metal bars, another three had knives, and one even had a small pistol.
Angel felt his features rearranging into a vampiric countenance to match theirs. He drew out a stake from his coat pocket.
"Show time," he snarled, as the first vampire came in for the attack.
********************************************************************************
Luke wandered down the steps of the high school, wondering mentally why he had done this. Whatever was going on, he now had even more reason to think something was up. The mere atmosphere in the library said that much.
His footsteps fell quietly on the main walkway through the lawn, down some more steps and out by the road. He quickly looked right then left for approaching traffic and, finding none, he stepped out.
He had reached the middle of the wide road when it happened.
A large truck appeared as if from nowhere, heading straight towards him.
From then on, it was just like in the movies.
He heard the distant roar of wheels and slowly, like time was moving through thick tar, he turned to face the oncoming truck. Its headlights blinded him temporarily, and he threw an arm up instinctively to his eyes. Then he realised what it was and forced himself to move; made his legs begin to carry him rapidly across the road.
Only it didn't happen that way.
His legs wouldn't move; they were frozen. And the worst thing was, he wasn't making it happen. His muscles were fighting to get him out of the path of the lorry, fighting against some hidden force intent on keeping him there. He knew he could have gotten himself away in any other circumstances. But not now.
Luke turned his turquoise eyes back to the lorry and knew, even though he was continually fighting to go one way or the other, that he was going to die. Only one thing went through his mind.
I'm not ready for this.
Then another thing happened.
Eyes heavily affected by the bright lights, he could hardly see anything else. But from across the street where he had been heading, he heard a gasp and then a louder voice yelling out something he didn't understand. He could have sworn there was another light that shot from there. Then he knew that it was true.
Because it hit him.
The reaction was something like the lock on a door under heavy pressure being released suddenly. The opposing force fell away and Luke stumbled backwards so quickly that he tripped over his own feet, fell backwards and landed heavily sitting on the kerb.
The truck roared straight on as though nothing had happened and disappeared around the corner. Luke watched it go dazedly, then turned his gaze to the two people rushing towards him. Two strangers.
Now that his vision was gradually returning to normal, he could tell that the strangers were two women in their late twenties. One was a red head and the other was blonde, and both were pretty. The pair halted by him, and the redhead kneeled next to him.
"Are...are you OK?" she stammered, shaken from witnessing it, checking him over for wounds of any type. "Are you hurt? Do you need to go anywhere?"
Luke blinked, taken aback a little. "I'm...I'm fine." He realised that his breathing was still uneven and unusually fast, so he did him best to calm himself. Then he frowned at them. "Who are you?"
The blonde spoke next. "My name's Tara and this is Willow. What's your name?"
"Luke." He spoke a little warily as he stood up, watching as Willow followed suite. "What did you do back there when...you know. Was it magic or something?"
The pair exchanged quick glances, then both looked back at him. It was only when he saw their nearly identical expressions of curious confusion that he realised that they could have been just innocent bystanders and not know anything about the world of evil that he had been oblivious to until recently. He sighed, pushing back some of his blonde hair.
"Sorry," he said. Then he laughed humourlessly, glancing away. "I guess this was my turn then."
When he looked back to the women, he saw something else in their eyes. Slow recognition. Realisation.
"Do you know Gracia McCormack?" Willow inquired. Luke frowned a bit.
"Yeah. I'm one of her best friends." Then he remembered something. "You're some friends of Angel, right?"
"That's right." Willow said, smiling a bit now. "He asked us to help with...well all that's been happening, which I think you'd know all about." She lost the smile as she said that.
"Sure. Hey, you'd better see Gracia's Watcher, Cecelia. Maybe you can convince her something's up. My sister Keisha's there as well." He gestured back at the school. They all began to walk up to the building.
"She fell d-down the stairs, right?" Tara asked, somewhat nervous about the school. Even though technically it wasn't the same one as Willow had gone to, she still didn't feel at ease around it.
Luke nodded. "Yeah. Gracia hurt her ankle, her sister Brianna got her wrist sliced open, and just generally a lot of bad stuff happened."
Willow was lost in her thoughts as Luke led them through the school. It was just as if she was retracing her steps from high school to the library, back when Buffy was alive...
"Here it is."
Luke's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up. He was pushing open the double doors to the library and walking through, so they followed. As the doors shut behind them, a small girl of Luke's age with red-brown hair and the same blue-green eyes looked up from where she sat at the main table. She got to her feet quickly and, after studying the newcomers curiously, looked questioningly at Luke as she approached.
"Keisha, these are friends of Angel's. Willow and Tara. Willow and Tara, this is my sister Keisha."
The girls exchanged quick greetings, then Keisha frowned slightly.
"Are you alright? You look kind of pale."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Let's just say I had too close an encounter with a freight truck. Willow and Tara here saved me with magic."
"Actually, it was just Tara." Willow put in reluctantly. "I don't do most magic any more."
Luke was going to continue explaining when a sharp voice cut through the atmosphere.
"What on EARTH is going on here?"
They all turned to see Cecelia descending the steps, face taut in an expression of furious displeasure as she surveyed the small gathering with cold eyes. She pursed her lips and scowled as she approached.
Keisha decided to come in with the introductions. "Uh, Willow, Tara, this is Cecelia, Gracia's Watcher. Cecelia, these are friends of Angel's."
Cecelia halted a few metres from the cluster, wearing an expression of prim distaste as she looked the women up and down, taking in every inch of their travel-wrinkled clothes and of their dishevelled hair. Willow tried out a smile and hesitantly held out a hand towards her.
"Hi. We've done some research on..."
"I suggest you leave immediately." Cecelia cut in icily, eyes narrowing. "I have a lot to do, but should you insist on wasting my time like this, my askance for you to leave may become much more violent." She scanned the people in front of her. "All of you." With that, she turned and began to walk away from them.
The group erupted into disagreeing voices- protesting her decision. Willow was the first one to make much sense out of the babble of noise, following Cecelia by a few steps.
"You can't just ignore this!" she almost shouted. The other three fell quiet, and Cecelia halted, back still turned. Willow didn't look shy or nervous now. Just angry and even a little scared. "There is some seriously bad magic being cast against Gracia, and if we can't break the spell, then it's very possible she'll get killed!"
Everything went dead silent then. Keisha put a hand to her mouth in shock. The twins both stared at Willow, stunned at hearing it plainly. Cecelia turned around to face the annoyed ex-witch slowly, an odd expression etched onto her pale features. Luke and Keisha realised what it was with a simultaneous jolt.
Emotion.
"It is a Slayer's duty to be prepared to sacrifice her life in the battle against evil." Cecelia said, looking Willow straight in the eyes. Willow faltered just a tiny bit. Cecelia exhaled in something not unlike a small sigh, glanced away briefly, and then faced Willow again. "I do not wish any harm to befall Gracia, but what else can I do? I am expected, as her Watcher, to send her to her death if and when I have to. I don't know who or what has or could have cast some sort of magick on her."
"Then please," Tara pleaded gently, stepping forward. "Let us cast a reverse spell now and she'll be OK."
Cecelia nodded mutely, much to the twins' surprise. Eventually she took a deep breath and said, "Yes. Yes, please do. If I can't help her, at least you can."
"I'm sure you can." Willow said. "If Gracia comes back before we complete the spell, this will be the first place she'll return, right?" She looked at the twins, who both nodded. "Maybe somebody should go to her now to help her, wherever she is."
Cecelia was about to speak when Keisha cut in, "She went to some vampire nest, right Cecelia?"
Cecelia shut her mouth and nodded, then added, "I'll go there now. You do the spell. I'll just get some weapons." She turned her back to them and began to walk almost shakily towards her office.
"Right," Willow continued. "We'll need constant heat for the spell. With Tara helping to perform the spell, she won't be able to provide that, so..."
"The science lab!" Luke said, with a sudden flash of genius. On Keisha's stunned look, he asked, "What? I can have intelligent thoughts sometimes, can't I?"
"Where's the nearest one?" Tara asked.
"On the second floor, it's not far."
The women nodded and allowed Luke and Keisha to guide them out of the library, partway down the corridor, up a flight of stairs and along a second corridor. Willow's attention was being drawn away from the set task slightly by the uncanniness of setting foot in the school which she personally had helped to blow up, as well as a small feeling of being followed despite the silence of the place. Just paranoia, she thought. It's OK- once the counter-spell is performed, it'll pass.
"Here it is," Keisha said, gesturing for them to enter as Luke opened the door. A small laugh escaped her lips. "If anyone had told me I'd voluntarily come back to the lab after school yesterday, I'd've called them mad."
Tara smiled at them. "Well, we're here. Let's get started."
They all began to move around the room, gathering equipment from the cupboards, setting it up on one of the middle benches. Within ten minutes, everything seemed ready, and they gathered around the apparatus. Tara nodded at Willow as she scattered and handful of herbs, then began to read aloud from a small old book in her hand.
"Oh great goddess Isis, Mother of Life..."
BAM!
They all gasped and spun around rapidly, Tara accidently knocking her herbs askew as she did so. The door that they had entered through, previously open slightly, had slammed shut with a vengeance.
Click!
The click of metal upon metal was so faint that it was barely heard under their fast breathing- but it was unmistakeably there. Keisha was the first to move, and did so by weaving her way across to the door and took hold of the metal handle. She jiggled it gently at first, then more violently.
Nothing.
She turned, staring at them with wide, horrified eyes. "It's locked."
"Stand back." Tara said, stepping forward. Keisha obeyed as the Wiccan began to chant in Latin. A glowing light appeared in her hands, then spread to the door handle. For almost a minute she conmtinued. Eventually, she ceased and looked at the others.
"You're right, Keisha." She said, voice low but clearly worried as well. "But in more ways than one."
The few seconds of silence that followed were broken by a dull, metallic clank. They all glanced in different directions, unsure of its location.
"What the-" Luke began, unable to continue.
Then a rushing noise filled their ears.
It was faint at first, slow and almost languid. Then it grew steadily louder and faster, and with the noise came a smell. A strong, overpowering smell that made them all answer in one simultaneous whisper of despair and fear.
"Gas."
********************************************************************************
I really do apologise for being cruel and leaving you on a cliffhanger, but forgive me on the account of my exams at the moment. Honestly, I finished the Geography one early today, so I spent the time mentally planning out the next chapter! My workload will decrease by Thursday night (a.k.a. the end of my exam week! Whoohoo!), and then I can start to spen a LOT more time on this writing. Hope you liked the chapter, and please review!
NOTE TO FANFREAK: Gracia hasn't had chance to tell Angel and Spike about the fight. She only found out about it that morning. Therefore, she got Keisha to tell them for her.
Disclaimer: Not Joss, am I? Just a poor fanfiction writer with £1.50 and a set of borrowed Nightworld books. **On knees, begging** Take pity on me!
Dedication: Everybody who's reviewed the last chapter and all the ones before that. Let's get me up to sixty reviews, shall we?
********************************************************************************
Luke sat with his feet kicked up on the table, watching with a little amusement as Keisha paced back and forth, wringing her hands slightly and chewing her lip. Eventually, she halted, and looked straight at him.
"Luke!" she wailed. "Quit sitting there grinning and CARE for once!"
He cocked an eyebrow but didn't loose his small smile. "You mean about Angel?"
"Yes, I-" She stopped suddenly as she realised the trap and her brother smiled wider. "About Angel and Gracia." She approached Luke, lowering her voice so that the Watcher would not hear. "Gracia has to fight all these vampires. Angel hasn't shown. You don't think that's even a little bit of an omen?"
"Keisha!" Luke groaned, voice also low. "The sun isn't even properly down yet! Angel just wants to play it safe, that's all."
She sighed. "I guess. But still..."
It was then that Cecelia stalked in rapidly from her office, ignoring the twins at first although they watched her come in, their discussion breaking up. Was it Luke's imagination, or were Cecelia's hard silver eyes a little...wild? Nervous, perhaps, apprehensive somehow. Then he mentally shook himself. It couldn't be anything.
Then the blonde Watcher turned and glared at them both through her squarish glasses. Her voice was cold and commanding as she spoke.
"You two, I see no reason for your being here. Leave."
"Uh, why?" Keisha couldn't help but ask that with even a little of her dislike for Cecelia in her voice. "Technically, we're still permitted to be on campus for about another half hour. Principal Walker put it down in the rules at the end of last term, so we could all use the research facilities for our homework."
Cecelia's eyes flashed. "I told you to leave," she said, voice as disdainful as ever. "You shall do as I say, and I have the power to make you do it."
"We'll just ask the principal then." Luke replied. The Watcher's eyes flicked to his dirty trainers up on the table then to his face. She took in the pair of them, standing and sitting there, watching her calmly. She snorted, turned on her heel, and carried on with her business. When she disappeared into the far bookshelves, Keisha sat next to her brother, leant over to his ear and whispered.
"Still, I think Angel should know as soon as possible where Gracia is. He worries, you know."
Luke sighed and removed his feet from the table with a roll of his eyes. "I'm not going to get any peace, am I? Alright, I'll see if I can catch him before he gets to the school. I'll come back by proper darkness if he hasn't shown. You stay here."
Keisha managed a smile as Luke picked up his jacket and went to leave. "Thanks." she whispered, ever cautious of the Watcher.
********************************************************************************
Angel came out of his apartment as soon as it was safe enough. He still kept to the darker areas to avoid possible burning from the very-nearly over sunset. His eyes were troubled as he quickened his pace. Something really wasn't right.
Suddenly, about two blocks from the school, he stopped and turned just as something launched itself at his throat.
He backhanded it away from himself, making it fall the pavement with a heavy thud. A vampire girl in game face, long hair wild as she picked herself up to join the other five approaching. They had managed to enclose Angel in a ring, each one armed with something. Two held metal bars, another three had knives, and one even had a small pistol.
Angel felt his features rearranging into a vampiric countenance to match theirs. He drew out a stake from his coat pocket.
"Show time," he snarled, as the first vampire came in for the attack.
********************************************************************************
Luke wandered down the steps of the high school, wondering mentally why he had done this. Whatever was going on, he now had even more reason to think something was up. The mere atmosphere in the library said that much.
His footsteps fell quietly on the main walkway through the lawn, down some more steps and out by the road. He quickly looked right then left for approaching traffic and, finding none, he stepped out.
He had reached the middle of the wide road when it happened.
A large truck appeared as if from nowhere, heading straight towards him.
From then on, it was just like in the movies.
He heard the distant roar of wheels and slowly, like time was moving through thick tar, he turned to face the oncoming truck. Its headlights blinded him temporarily, and he threw an arm up instinctively to his eyes. Then he realised what it was and forced himself to move; made his legs begin to carry him rapidly across the road.
Only it didn't happen that way.
His legs wouldn't move; they were frozen. And the worst thing was, he wasn't making it happen. His muscles were fighting to get him out of the path of the lorry, fighting against some hidden force intent on keeping him there. He knew he could have gotten himself away in any other circumstances. But not now.
Luke turned his turquoise eyes back to the lorry and knew, even though he was continually fighting to go one way or the other, that he was going to die. Only one thing went through his mind.
I'm not ready for this.
Then another thing happened.
Eyes heavily affected by the bright lights, he could hardly see anything else. But from across the street where he had been heading, he heard a gasp and then a louder voice yelling out something he didn't understand. He could have sworn there was another light that shot from there. Then he knew that it was true.
Because it hit him.
The reaction was something like the lock on a door under heavy pressure being released suddenly. The opposing force fell away and Luke stumbled backwards so quickly that he tripped over his own feet, fell backwards and landed heavily sitting on the kerb.
The truck roared straight on as though nothing had happened and disappeared around the corner. Luke watched it go dazedly, then turned his gaze to the two people rushing towards him. Two strangers.
Now that his vision was gradually returning to normal, he could tell that the strangers were two women in their late twenties. One was a red head and the other was blonde, and both were pretty. The pair halted by him, and the redhead kneeled next to him.
"Are...are you OK?" she stammered, shaken from witnessing it, checking him over for wounds of any type. "Are you hurt? Do you need to go anywhere?"
Luke blinked, taken aback a little. "I'm...I'm fine." He realised that his breathing was still uneven and unusually fast, so he did him best to calm himself. Then he frowned at them. "Who are you?"
The blonde spoke next. "My name's Tara and this is Willow. What's your name?"
"Luke." He spoke a little warily as he stood up, watching as Willow followed suite. "What did you do back there when...you know. Was it magic or something?"
The pair exchanged quick glances, then both looked back at him. It was only when he saw their nearly identical expressions of curious confusion that he realised that they could have been just innocent bystanders and not know anything about the world of evil that he had been oblivious to until recently. He sighed, pushing back some of his blonde hair.
"Sorry," he said. Then he laughed humourlessly, glancing away. "I guess this was my turn then."
When he looked back to the women, he saw something else in their eyes. Slow recognition. Realisation.
"Do you know Gracia McCormack?" Willow inquired. Luke frowned a bit.
"Yeah. I'm one of her best friends." Then he remembered something. "You're some friends of Angel, right?"
"That's right." Willow said, smiling a bit now. "He asked us to help with...well all that's been happening, which I think you'd know all about." She lost the smile as she said that.
"Sure. Hey, you'd better see Gracia's Watcher, Cecelia. Maybe you can convince her something's up. My sister Keisha's there as well." He gestured back at the school. They all began to walk up to the building.
"She fell d-down the stairs, right?" Tara asked, somewhat nervous about the school. Even though technically it wasn't the same one as Willow had gone to, she still didn't feel at ease around it.
Luke nodded. "Yeah. Gracia hurt her ankle, her sister Brianna got her wrist sliced open, and just generally a lot of bad stuff happened."
Willow was lost in her thoughts as Luke led them through the school. It was just as if she was retracing her steps from high school to the library, back when Buffy was alive...
"Here it is."
Luke's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up. He was pushing open the double doors to the library and walking through, so they followed. As the doors shut behind them, a small girl of Luke's age with red-brown hair and the same blue-green eyes looked up from where she sat at the main table. She got to her feet quickly and, after studying the newcomers curiously, looked questioningly at Luke as she approached.
"Keisha, these are friends of Angel's. Willow and Tara. Willow and Tara, this is my sister Keisha."
The girls exchanged quick greetings, then Keisha frowned slightly.
"Are you alright? You look kind of pale."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Let's just say I had too close an encounter with a freight truck. Willow and Tara here saved me with magic."
"Actually, it was just Tara." Willow put in reluctantly. "I don't do most magic any more."
Luke was going to continue explaining when a sharp voice cut through the atmosphere.
"What on EARTH is going on here?"
They all turned to see Cecelia descending the steps, face taut in an expression of furious displeasure as she surveyed the small gathering with cold eyes. She pursed her lips and scowled as she approached.
Keisha decided to come in with the introductions. "Uh, Willow, Tara, this is Cecelia, Gracia's Watcher. Cecelia, these are friends of Angel's."
Cecelia halted a few metres from the cluster, wearing an expression of prim distaste as she looked the women up and down, taking in every inch of their travel-wrinkled clothes and of their dishevelled hair. Willow tried out a smile and hesitantly held out a hand towards her.
"Hi. We've done some research on..."
"I suggest you leave immediately." Cecelia cut in icily, eyes narrowing. "I have a lot to do, but should you insist on wasting my time like this, my askance for you to leave may become much more violent." She scanned the people in front of her. "All of you." With that, she turned and began to walk away from them.
The group erupted into disagreeing voices- protesting her decision. Willow was the first one to make much sense out of the babble of noise, following Cecelia by a few steps.
"You can't just ignore this!" she almost shouted. The other three fell quiet, and Cecelia halted, back still turned. Willow didn't look shy or nervous now. Just angry and even a little scared. "There is some seriously bad magic being cast against Gracia, and if we can't break the spell, then it's very possible she'll get killed!"
Everything went dead silent then. Keisha put a hand to her mouth in shock. The twins both stared at Willow, stunned at hearing it plainly. Cecelia turned around to face the annoyed ex-witch slowly, an odd expression etched onto her pale features. Luke and Keisha realised what it was with a simultaneous jolt.
Emotion.
"It is a Slayer's duty to be prepared to sacrifice her life in the battle against evil." Cecelia said, looking Willow straight in the eyes. Willow faltered just a tiny bit. Cecelia exhaled in something not unlike a small sigh, glanced away briefly, and then faced Willow again. "I do not wish any harm to befall Gracia, but what else can I do? I am expected, as her Watcher, to send her to her death if and when I have to. I don't know who or what has or could have cast some sort of magick on her."
"Then please," Tara pleaded gently, stepping forward. "Let us cast a reverse spell now and she'll be OK."
Cecelia nodded mutely, much to the twins' surprise. Eventually she took a deep breath and said, "Yes. Yes, please do. If I can't help her, at least you can."
"I'm sure you can." Willow said. "If Gracia comes back before we complete the spell, this will be the first place she'll return, right?" She looked at the twins, who both nodded. "Maybe somebody should go to her now to help her, wherever she is."
Cecelia was about to speak when Keisha cut in, "She went to some vampire nest, right Cecelia?"
Cecelia shut her mouth and nodded, then added, "I'll go there now. You do the spell. I'll just get some weapons." She turned her back to them and began to walk almost shakily towards her office.
"Right," Willow continued. "We'll need constant heat for the spell. With Tara helping to perform the spell, she won't be able to provide that, so..."
"The science lab!" Luke said, with a sudden flash of genius. On Keisha's stunned look, he asked, "What? I can have intelligent thoughts sometimes, can't I?"
"Where's the nearest one?" Tara asked.
"On the second floor, it's not far."
The women nodded and allowed Luke and Keisha to guide them out of the library, partway down the corridor, up a flight of stairs and along a second corridor. Willow's attention was being drawn away from the set task slightly by the uncanniness of setting foot in the school which she personally had helped to blow up, as well as a small feeling of being followed despite the silence of the place. Just paranoia, she thought. It's OK- once the counter-spell is performed, it'll pass.
"Here it is," Keisha said, gesturing for them to enter as Luke opened the door. A small laugh escaped her lips. "If anyone had told me I'd voluntarily come back to the lab after school yesterday, I'd've called them mad."
Tara smiled at them. "Well, we're here. Let's get started."
They all began to move around the room, gathering equipment from the cupboards, setting it up on one of the middle benches. Within ten minutes, everything seemed ready, and they gathered around the apparatus. Tara nodded at Willow as she scattered and handful of herbs, then began to read aloud from a small old book in her hand.
"Oh great goddess Isis, Mother of Life..."
BAM!
They all gasped and spun around rapidly, Tara accidently knocking her herbs askew as she did so. The door that they had entered through, previously open slightly, had slammed shut with a vengeance.
Click!
The click of metal upon metal was so faint that it was barely heard under their fast breathing- but it was unmistakeably there. Keisha was the first to move, and did so by weaving her way across to the door and took hold of the metal handle. She jiggled it gently at first, then more violently.
Nothing.
She turned, staring at them with wide, horrified eyes. "It's locked."
"Stand back." Tara said, stepping forward. Keisha obeyed as the Wiccan began to chant in Latin. A glowing light appeared in her hands, then spread to the door handle. For almost a minute she conmtinued. Eventually, she ceased and looked at the others.
"You're right, Keisha." She said, voice low but clearly worried as well. "But in more ways than one."
The few seconds of silence that followed were broken by a dull, metallic clank. They all glanced in different directions, unsure of its location.
"What the-" Luke began, unable to continue.
Then a rushing noise filled their ears.
It was faint at first, slow and almost languid. Then it grew steadily louder and faster, and with the noise came a smell. A strong, overpowering smell that made them all answer in one simultaneous whisper of despair and fear.
"Gas."
********************************************************************************
I really do apologise for being cruel and leaving you on a cliffhanger, but forgive me on the account of my exams at the moment. Honestly, I finished the Geography one early today, so I spent the time mentally planning out the next chapter! My workload will decrease by Thursday night (a.k.a. the end of my exam week! Whoohoo!), and then I can start to spen a LOT more time on this writing. Hope you liked the chapter, and please review!
