Chapter 5
Serena made her way through the woods. It was beginning to grow dark and she was starting to get hungry. She had been wandering the woods for hours. She was afraid she was lost. There was a chill in the air that gave her goosebumps. She felt as if she was wandering around in circles. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know where the nest was, and she didn't know her way out of the woods. She felt herself losing faith. She saw a movement out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't react fast enough. Something heavy hit her in the back of the head and she blacked out.
"Angel, I lost her. She just disappeared. I think she knew I was following her and purposefully disappeared." Gunn said into the cell phone.
"Okay, I need you to get back here. Get Wesley and Cordelia on your way here." Angel commanded, then hung up.
After picking up Wesley and Cordy, Gunn met Angel at the hotel. Angel sat, rubbing his temples. "So where exactly did you lose her?" Angel asked.
"In the woods. It was starting to get dark, and one minute she's there, the next minute she's gone. It was like she just disappeared into thin air, man. It was weird." Gunn shook his head in exasperation. Angel was lost in thought.
"My guess is that she is either at the nest kicking some vampire named Vladimir's ass, or something's gone wrong. She's been gone for 10 hours." Angel concluded.
"I'd say something went wrong. It's been far too long just to go out and kill some simple vampires." Wesley agreed, his British accent making him sound like some sort of professor.
"Brilliant, Wes!" Cordelia applauded. "That much is obvious. But how do we find her? She's probably lost in the woods somewhere! Or captured by the nest of vampires!"
"I know. The woods are huge. I don't know how to find her." Angel said helplessly.
"What about the karaoke demon dude?" Gunn suggested. "Couldn't he foresee where she is?"
Within a matter of seconds, Angel was out of the door, Gunn, Wesley, and Cordelia following.
"Tie her up!" Vladimir ordered. "Keep the blindfold on her and her hands bound! We can't have her using her black magick, now can we?"
Serena struggled against the rough hands that were hanging her up. She cursed out loud but it only came out muffled against the gag. She tried kicking something as they chained her feet together and up against the wall.
"You will not get the pleasure of being killed right away, since you caused me so much trouble over the past year. No, I would rather disfigure that beautiful face first and let you feel pain then kill you when you are barely clinging to life." Vlad hissed with pleasure.
Serena was able to spit out her gag. "Go to hell, you bastard!" she spat angrily.
"Take off her blindfold, and watch her carefully. Leave out the gag.I want to hear her scream." Vladimir smiled with anticipation.
The blindfold was ripped off and Serena's temper soared at the sight of Vladimir. "Let's begin the torture. Where would you like to start??" Serena remained silent, but glared at Vladimir.
"Oh, nothing to say? We'll see how long that lasts. Well, I suppose we'll start with sharp, shall we?" Vlad picked up a shiny dagger from a table and walked menacingly close to her, until he was only a few feet away. Light danced across the sharp blade. Serena closed her eyes in fear and began to bite her lip to keep herself from screaming. She felt the blade sink into her cheek and the blood began to trickle down and drip. She squeezed her eyes closed, but did not cry out in pain. Instead, she bit on her lip hard and wished that there were some way out of this mess. She felt another cut, this time on her arm, through the fabric. The knife sank through the muscle almost to the bone before he withdrew. She bit her lip so hard it began to bleed.
"Why aren't you screaming?" Vladimir asked sweetly. "There isn't enough pain for you?" She ignored him and stared off at a distant candle flickering in the cave. He walked up to her again, his face barely an inch from hers. He flicked his tongue out and licked her cheek where it bled. She turned the cut away from him in disgust. Vladimir, in anger, reared back and slapped her repeatedly in the face. Her face showed no emotion, but when he looked into her dark, penetrating eyes, he saw a flicker of fear. Vladimir let out a low laugh, then returned to his table of torture items. "Hot." he murmured to himself with a wide smile on his face. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the heat and pain.
Angel walked into the karaoke bar and went right up to the green, horned, psychic demon.
"Hi, no time for talk. There's trouble. I need your help." Angel said, getting right to the point.
"Hiya, buddy! Haven't seen you around in a while!" the demon greeted in his usual friendliness.
"Um, Angel?" Cordelia asked urgently.
"Not now, Cordelia. I need to find out about Serena." Angel snapped.
"Angel, vision!" Cordelia called before collapsing to the floor from the mind splitting vision.
"Oh, vision!" Angel whirled around to help Cordelia. "Why didn't you say so?"
A few seconds after the vision started, it ended. Wesley and Gunn helped Cordelia up.
"Cordy? What did you see?" Angel asked hurriedly.
"Oh, no!" She cried. She looked directly into Angel's eyes. "Angel, Serena is in trouble."
"What's wrong?" Wesley asked. "What kind of trouble?"
"They captured her and now they're torturing her for their own twisted pleasure. I could feel the pain all over her body. It feels like they're burning her to death." Cordy cupped her head in pain.
"Do you know where she is?" Wesley asked.
"A cave, in the woods. Its their nest." Cordelia replied.
"Dead Man's Cave." Gunn said thoughtfully. Angel gave Gunn and Wesley a look, then began to walk from the bar.
"Oh, Angel?" Cordelia called. "Hurry." He nodded, then walked out of the bar with Gunn, Wesley staying behind to help Cordy.
"Dammit, she's passed out!" Vladimir cursed. "We'll just have to wait until our little beautiful Slayer wakes up, I suppose." He sighed in exasperation. "It really is too much fun, torturing the poor girl. I almost feel sorry for her." He shook his head. "But I can't believe that she didn't scream once!"
He put down the red-hot poker and sat down. He admired his handy-work. The Slayer's face was disfigured with cuts and bruises. There were blotches of blood seeping into her clothes where she bled from deep cuts. She had several burn marks from the searing poker. He was very proud of himself. This was the best torture he has ever done in his entire 185 years as a vampire.
Suddenly, there was a commotion at the cave mouth. "What is it now?" The leader vampire grumbled, as he stood up. He walked toward the entrance and instead of meeting one of his vampires, he met a flying fist. He was knocked backwards into his throne by Angel.
"Gunn, cover me!" Angel called when he spotted Serena chained up against the wall. He almost didn't recognize her. "Oh, my god!" he whispered, not believing the figure in front of him was Serena. Her face was bloody and burned. Her eyes opened slightly, and tried to make out the figure in front of her.
"Angel?" she asked. "Is that you?" Her words slurred together.
"It's me, sweetheart. I'm going to get you out of here." He analyzed the chains and gave them a good tug. They were ripped from the cave wall. He continued until she was free. She slumped against the wall.
"So tired, Angel. So tired." She mumbled. He ignored her and picked her up, cradling her in his arms.
"Gunn, let's go. I got her." Angel hollered, and began to run through the woods. He heard Gunn's footsteps behind him. After a short run, they reached the car.
"You drive." Angel tossed him his keys. Angel got in the back with an unconscious Serena.
"Where?" Gunn asked, starting the car.
"Back home. She's a Slayer. She heals quickly." Angel commanded.
"But, man, she don't look that good." Gunn told him. Even though he and the Slayer weren't best of friends, he was still worried about her.
"Just drive. I don't think anything's broken, so she'll be fine. Just go." Angel told him. Angel studied Serena's unconscious face. It was peaceful now, as if she were sleeping. No pain distorted her beautiful face. Angel began to check her wounds. There were many. There were cuts, bruises, and burns.
"You're going to be fine." Angel whispered as they drove on. "Just fine." He held onto her until they reached the hotel.
Serena made her way through the woods. It was beginning to grow dark and she was starting to get hungry. She had been wandering the woods for hours. She was afraid she was lost. There was a chill in the air that gave her goosebumps. She felt as if she was wandering around in circles. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know where the nest was, and she didn't know her way out of the woods. She felt herself losing faith. She saw a movement out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't react fast enough. Something heavy hit her in the back of the head and she blacked out.
"Angel, I lost her. She just disappeared. I think she knew I was following her and purposefully disappeared." Gunn said into the cell phone.
"Okay, I need you to get back here. Get Wesley and Cordelia on your way here." Angel commanded, then hung up.
After picking up Wesley and Cordy, Gunn met Angel at the hotel. Angel sat, rubbing his temples. "So where exactly did you lose her?" Angel asked.
"In the woods. It was starting to get dark, and one minute she's there, the next minute she's gone. It was like she just disappeared into thin air, man. It was weird." Gunn shook his head in exasperation. Angel was lost in thought.
"My guess is that she is either at the nest kicking some vampire named Vladimir's ass, or something's gone wrong. She's been gone for 10 hours." Angel concluded.
"I'd say something went wrong. It's been far too long just to go out and kill some simple vampires." Wesley agreed, his British accent making him sound like some sort of professor.
"Brilliant, Wes!" Cordelia applauded. "That much is obvious. But how do we find her? She's probably lost in the woods somewhere! Or captured by the nest of vampires!"
"I know. The woods are huge. I don't know how to find her." Angel said helplessly.
"What about the karaoke demon dude?" Gunn suggested. "Couldn't he foresee where she is?"
Within a matter of seconds, Angel was out of the door, Gunn, Wesley, and Cordelia following.
"Tie her up!" Vladimir ordered. "Keep the blindfold on her and her hands bound! We can't have her using her black magick, now can we?"
Serena struggled against the rough hands that were hanging her up. She cursed out loud but it only came out muffled against the gag. She tried kicking something as they chained her feet together and up against the wall.
"You will not get the pleasure of being killed right away, since you caused me so much trouble over the past year. No, I would rather disfigure that beautiful face first and let you feel pain then kill you when you are barely clinging to life." Vlad hissed with pleasure.
Serena was able to spit out her gag. "Go to hell, you bastard!" she spat angrily.
"Take off her blindfold, and watch her carefully. Leave out the gag.I want to hear her scream." Vladimir smiled with anticipation.
The blindfold was ripped off and Serena's temper soared at the sight of Vladimir. "Let's begin the torture. Where would you like to start??" Serena remained silent, but glared at Vladimir.
"Oh, nothing to say? We'll see how long that lasts. Well, I suppose we'll start with sharp, shall we?" Vlad picked up a shiny dagger from a table and walked menacingly close to her, until he was only a few feet away. Light danced across the sharp blade. Serena closed her eyes in fear and began to bite her lip to keep herself from screaming. She felt the blade sink into her cheek and the blood began to trickle down and drip. She squeezed her eyes closed, but did not cry out in pain. Instead, she bit on her lip hard and wished that there were some way out of this mess. She felt another cut, this time on her arm, through the fabric. The knife sank through the muscle almost to the bone before he withdrew. She bit her lip so hard it began to bleed.
"Why aren't you screaming?" Vladimir asked sweetly. "There isn't enough pain for you?" She ignored him and stared off at a distant candle flickering in the cave. He walked up to her again, his face barely an inch from hers. He flicked his tongue out and licked her cheek where it bled. She turned the cut away from him in disgust. Vladimir, in anger, reared back and slapped her repeatedly in the face. Her face showed no emotion, but when he looked into her dark, penetrating eyes, he saw a flicker of fear. Vladimir let out a low laugh, then returned to his table of torture items. "Hot." he murmured to himself with a wide smile on his face. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the heat and pain.
Angel walked into the karaoke bar and went right up to the green, horned, psychic demon.
"Hi, no time for talk. There's trouble. I need your help." Angel said, getting right to the point.
"Hiya, buddy! Haven't seen you around in a while!" the demon greeted in his usual friendliness.
"Um, Angel?" Cordelia asked urgently.
"Not now, Cordelia. I need to find out about Serena." Angel snapped.
"Angel, vision!" Cordelia called before collapsing to the floor from the mind splitting vision.
"Oh, vision!" Angel whirled around to help Cordelia. "Why didn't you say so?"
A few seconds after the vision started, it ended. Wesley and Gunn helped Cordelia up.
"Cordy? What did you see?" Angel asked hurriedly.
"Oh, no!" She cried. She looked directly into Angel's eyes. "Angel, Serena is in trouble."
"What's wrong?" Wesley asked. "What kind of trouble?"
"They captured her and now they're torturing her for their own twisted pleasure. I could feel the pain all over her body. It feels like they're burning her to death." Cordy cupped her head in pain.
"Do you know where she is?" Wesley asked.
"A cave, in the woods. Its their nest." Cordelia replied.
"Dead Man's Cave." Gunn said thoughtfully. Angel gave Gunn and Wesley a look, then began to walk from the bar.
"Oh, Angel?" Cordelia called. "Hurry." He nodded, then walked out of the bar with Gunn, Wesley staying behind to help Cordy.
"Dammit, she's passed out!" Vladimir cursed. "We'll just have to wait until our little beautiful Slayer wakes up, I suppose." He sighed in exasperation. "It really is too much fun, torturing the poor girl. I almost feel sorry for her." He shook his head. "But I can't believe that she didn't scream once!"
He put down the red-hot poker and sat down. He admired his handy-work. The Slayer's face was disfigured with cuts and bruises. There were blotches of blood seeping into her clothes where she bled from deep cuts. She had several burn marks from the searing poker. He was very proud of himself. This was the best torture he has ever done in his entire 185 years as a vampire.
Suddenly, there was a commotion at the cave mouth. "What is it now?" The leader vampire grumbled, as he stood up. He walked toward the entrance and instead of meeting one of his vampires, he met a flying fist. He was knocked backwards into his throne by Angel.
"Gunn, cover me!" Angel called when he spotted Serena chained up against the wall. He almost didn't recognize her. "Oh, my god!" he whispered, not believing the figure in front of him was Serena. Her face was bloody and burned. Her eyes opened slightly, and tried to make out the figure in front of her.
"Angel?" she asked. "Is that you?" Her words slurred together.
"It's me, sweetheart. I'm going to get you out of here." He analyzed the chains and gave them a good tug. They were ripped from the cave wall. He continued until she was free. She slumped against the wall.
"So tired, Angel. So tired." She mumbled. He ignored her and picked her up, cradling her in his arms.
"Gunn, let's go. I got her." Angel hollered, and began to run through the woods. He heard Gunn's footsteps behind him. After a short run, they reached the car.
"You drive." Angel tossed him his keys. Angel got in the back with an unconscious Serena.
"Where?" Gunn asked, starting the car.
"Back home. She's a Slayer. She heals quickly." Angel commanded.
"But, man, she don't look that good." Gunn told him. Even though he and the Slayer weren't best of friends, he was still worried about her.
"Just drive. I don't think anything's broken, so she'll be fine. Just go." Angel told him. Angel studied Serena's unconscious face. It was peaceful now, as if she were sleeping. No pain distorted her beautiful face. Angel began to check her wounds. There were many. There were cuts, bruises, and burns.
"You're going to be fine." Angel whispered as they drove on. "Just fine." He held onto her until they reached the hotel.