Chapter 5
Angel surveyed the bloody mess, sadness in his heart. Blood was sprayed everywhere, making his stomach somersault slowly. "It was Serena." Angel whispered.
"Are you sure? Cause there are other demons." Gunn objected.
"I smell her blood mixed in with other people's. It was her." Angel confirmed. "I'm guessing someone put up a fight with her and spilled some of her blood. Which means she may be injured somewhere. I can follow the scent of her blood. Let's go."
Gunn followed Angel outside, being careful to stick close behind him. "She's close by." Angel reported, sniffing the air. "Real close."
Something lunged out from behind a building and knocked Gunn off of his feet and landed on top of him. Gunn stared up into the familiar cat-eyes. "It's Serena!" Gunn called, knocking her off of him as gently as possible. Serena, or the thing she had become, landed on all fours, glowering at the men in hatred. The transformation to Angel was amazing. Her hair was wild and tangled, her eyes just narrow slits. Her face had sprouted fur and had become more cat-like. A ring of dripping blood surrounded her mouth. She licked it, growling at him. Angel barely recognized her.
She lunged at them again, this time taking down Angel. She raised a hand with sharp claws gleaming, ready to swipe. Angel braced himself, but he expected never came. Recognition gleamed in Serena's eye. She slowly put down her hand and growled ferociously. Angel realized that something made her not claw him to death.
Serena backed up off Angel slowly, her careful gaze never leaving the young man and the vampire. Then she took off like lightning into the night.
"Man, what the hell was that all about?" Gunn grumbled, wiping off his hands angrily.
"I have no clue. But I bet we're going to find out really soon." Angel said grimly, staring off at the path the Slayer had taken.
*****
Wesley stared at the musty books in front of him. He struggled to keep his eyes open, to find the answers in the book he was trying to find for most of the night. The sky was now tinged with rose colors and he still hadn't found anything. He blinked, trying to focus on the yellowed page in front of him. Suddenly the answer was there.
He sprang out of his seat and bolted upstairs to Angel's room. Angel let Wesley into the room, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Angel, I found something." Wesley studied the page. "Animal possession. An animal spirit takes over the human one." Wesley continued to scan the page, then stopped, faltering. "It says here that if the spirit remains in the human host for a long period of time, the human spirit is lost forever." He said slowly, looking up at Angel. Determination was set on Angel's face.
Cordelia joined the two in the hallway. "What's going on? Wes, did you find something?" She asked. She held a book in her hand.
"Yes, well, sort of." Wesley shook his head. He turned to Angel. "Animal possessions aren't natural."
"It's Edwards. It has to be. Serena must've gotten too close." Angel shook his head angrily. He silently reprimanded himself.
Cordy, who had been watching his expression, suddenly collapsed onto the floor, clutching her head in agony. Her book that she was holding flew out of her grasp and slammed into the wall, leaving a dent. Her body convulsed and flew into spasms. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Angel and Wesley knelt by her. She opened her eyes. The vision was over.
Angel gently helped her up. She cradled her head in one hand while rubbing her neck with the other.
"Angel, you have to get over to Lorne's. Serena's going to have herself a little snack." Cordelia said urgently. "You better grab Gunn and get over there fast."
*****
Angel studied the gnawed, severed arm in front of him, kneeling to take a closer look. His brow furrowed in deep thought.
"So when are you going to learn how to control your cousins?" Detective Kate Lockley's voice cut through his thoughts.
A moment of silence passed. Angel stood, his mind still wandering. "It wasn't a vampire." Angel answered shortly.
"How do you know? Do you guys have secret codes or something, so you know what everyone's doing?" Kate replied dryly.
There was silence. "What kind of demon was it?" Kate asked quietly. Angel paced the street, ignoring the talking of the police officers hovering nearby. Kate waited expectantly.
"It wasn't a demon either." Angel told her.
"Then what was it? It couldn't of been any normal human being!" Kate responded angrily. Kate glanced at Gunn. "Say, where's Slayer girl?"
"She's the problem." Gunn piped up.
"Wait, your telling me that she did this?" Kate asked Angel incredulously, motioning toward the severed arm laying on the ground.
"It's not exactly her." Gunn answered quietly.
"Okay, enough beating around the bush. What the hell is going on?" Kate demanded, crossing her arms.
"It's kind of a...unique situation. I'll fill you in later, after this is all over." Angel promised, motioning to Gunn. "Right now, we have to be going. I think we just got a lead."
They left Kate behind with a stunned look on her face.
"She dragged the body, leaving a nice blood trail to follow." Angel murmured under his breath to Gunn. "We should find her in no time."
Gunn followed Angel closely, listening to the unusually silent night and watching Angel sniff the air. It reminded Gunn of a dog he once knew as a child. It almost made him crack up, but he held it in, due to the seriousness of the matter at hand. So he pushed it out of his mind.
Angel stopped cold in his tracks. Gunn nearly bumped into him. Angel looked around curiously. "What's going on? Why aren't we trackin'?" Gunn asked curiously.
"Because," Angel responded, looking up at the buildings surrounding them, "the trail just went cold."
"What do you mean, went cold?" Gunn asked.
"It just stopped." Angel frowned deeply. His eyes shifted from rooftop to rooftop, trying to find a clue. "One minute there's a nice, warm, delicious." Angel rambled.
"Angel, please. I'm about to lose my dinner." Gunn replied.
"Right, sorry. One minute there's a nice trail of blood and then, its gone. Not a drop to be found. I was thinking that she could have jumped onto one of the roofs or something, but I would have smelled the blood. I got nothing." Angel made eye contact with Gunn.
"So we got nothing put a couple drops of blood that lead us nowhere." Gunn summed up, shaking his head. "You gotta admit, the girl's good."
"That's what I'm afraid of. She's the Slayer. She already has superhuman powers. Now, this animal's gotten a hold of her soul and." Angel trailed off.
"I don't get this animal possession thing. How can that happen?" Gunn inquired, his head beginning to hurt from thinking too much.
"It's almost like the demon vampire taking the soul of the human being. It gives her no inhibitions, no conscience, no nothing, just the urge to feed. Just the animal instincts. And she has Slayer powers on top of that animal power. She's going to be hard to take her down without seriously hurting her." Angel thought out loud.
Gunn remained silent, taking it everything Angel had just said. He scanned the area one more time, then said, "You ready to go?"
"Yeah, let's go. There's nothing here." Angel replied, following Gunn slowly. He had the feeling he was being watched. The little hairs on the back of his neck bristled at the feeling. He turned around and saw nothing, but the feeling didn't subside. He walked away slowly.
A pair of cat eyes watched him leave.
Angel surveyed the bloody mess, sadness in his heart. Blood was sprayed everywhere, making his stomach somersault slowly. "It was Serena." Angel whispered.
"Are you sure? Cause there are other demons." Gunn objected.
"I smell her blood mixed in with other people's. It was her." Angel confirmed. "I'm guessing someone put up a fight with her and spilled some of her blood. Which means she may be injured somewhere. I can follow the scent of her blood. Let's go."
Gunn followed Angel outside, being careful to stick close behind him. "She's close by." Angel reported, sniffing the air. "Real close."
Something lunged out from behind a building and knocked Gunn off of his feet and landed on top of him. Gunn stared up into the familiar cat-eyes. "It's Serena!" Gunn called, knocking her off of him as gently as possible. Serena, or the thing she had become, landed on all fours, glowering at the men in hatred. The transformation to Angel was amazing. Her hair was wild and tangled, her eyes just narrow slits. Her face had sprouted fur and had become more cat-like. A ring of dripping blood surrounded her mouth. She licked it, growling at him. Angel barely recognized her.
She lunged at them again, this time taking down Angel. She raised a hand with sharp claws gleaming, ready to swipe. Angel braced himself, but he expected never came. Recognition gleamed in Serena's eye. She slowly put down her hand and growled ferociously. Angel realized that something made her not claw him to death.
Serena backed up off Angel slowly, her careful gaze never leaving the young man and the vampire. Then she took off like lightning into the night.
"Man, what the hell was that all about?" Gunn grumbled, wiping off his hands angrily.
"I have no clue. But I bet we're going to find out really soon." Angel said grimly, staring off at the path the Slayer had taken.
*****
Wesley stared at the musty books in front of him. He struggled to keep his eyes open, to find the answers in the book he was trying to find for most of the night. The sky was now tinged with rose colors and he still hadn't found anything. He blinked, trying to focus on the yellowed page in front of him. Suddenly the answer was there.
He sprang out of his seat and bolted upstairs to Angel's room. Angel let Wesley into the room, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Angel, I found something." Wesley studied the page. "Animal possession. An animal spirit takes over the human one." Wesley continued to scan the page, then stopped, faltering. "It says here that if the spirit remains in the human host for a long period of time, the human spirit is lost forever." He said slowly, looking up at Angel. Determination was set on Angel's face.
Cordelia joined the two in the hallway. "What's going on? Wes, did you find something?" She asked. She held a book in her hand.
"Yes, well, sort of." Wesley shook his head. He turned to Angel. "Animal possessions aren't natural."
"It's Edwards. It has to be. Serena must've gotten too close." Angel shook his head angrily. He silently reprimanded himself.
Cordy, who had been watching his expression, suddenly collapsed onto the floor, clutching her head in agony. Her book that she was holding flew out of her grasp and slammed into the wall, leaving a dent. Her body convulsed and flew into spasms. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Angel and Wesley knelt by her. She opened her eyes. The vision was over.
Angel gently helped her up. She cradled her head in one hand while rubbing her neck with the other.
"Angel, you have to get over to Lorne's. Serena's going to have herself a little snack." Cordelia said urgently. "You better grab Gunn and get over there fast."
*****
Angel studied the gnawed, severed arm in front of him, kneeling to take a closer look. His brow furrowed in deep thought.
"So when are you going to learn how to control your cousins?" Detective Kate Lockley's voice cut through his thoughts.
A moment of silence passed. Angel stood, his mind still wandering. "It wasn't a vampire." Angel answered shortly.
"How do you know? Do you guys have secret codes or something, so you know what everyone's doing?" Kate replied dryly.
There was silence. "What kind of demon was it?" Kate asked quietly. Angel paced the street, ignoring the talking of the police officers hovering nearby. Kate waited expectantly.
"It wasn't a demon either." Angel told her.
"Then what was it? It couldn't of been any normal human being!" Kate responded angrily. Kate glanced at Gunn. "Say, where's Slayer girl?"
"She's the problem." Gunn piped up.
"Wait, your telling me that she did this?" Kate asked Angel incredulously, motioning toward the severed arm laying on the ground.
"It's not exactly her." Gunn answered quietly.
"Okay, enough beating around the bush. What the hell is going on?" Kate demanded, crossing her arms.
"It's kind of a...unique situation. I'll fill you in later, after this is all over." Angel promised, motioning to Gunn. "Right now, we have to be going. I think we just got a lead."
They left Kate behind with a stunned look on her face.
"She dragged the body, leaving a nice blood trail to follow." Angel murmured under his breath to Gunn. "We should find her in no time."
Gunn followed Angel closely, listening to the unusually silent night and watching Angel sniff the air. It reminded Gunn of a dog he once knew as a child. It almost made him crack up, but he held it in, due to the seriousness of the matter at hand. So he pushed it out of his mind.
Angel stopped cold in his tracks. Gunn nearly bumped into him. Angel looked around curiously. "What's going on? Why aren't we trackin'?" Gunn asked curiously.
"Because," Angel responded, looking up at the buildings surrounding them, "the trail just went cold."
"What do you mean, went cold?" Gunn asked.
"It just stopped." Angel frowned deeply. His eyes shifted from rooftop to rooftop, trying to find a clue. "One minute there's a nice, warm, delicious." Angel rambled.
"Angel, please. I'm about to lose my dinner." Gunn replied.
"Right, sorry. One minute there's a nice trail of blood and then, its gone. Not a drop to be found. I was thinking that she could have jumped onto one of the roofs or something, but I would have smelled the blood. I got nothing." Angel made eye contact with Gunn.
"So we got nothing put a couple drops of blood that lead us nowhere." Gunn summed up, shaking his head. "You gotta admit, the girl's good."
"That's what I'm afraid of. She's the Slayer. She already has superhuman powers. Now, this animal's gotten a hold of her soul and." Angel trailed off.
"I don't get this animal possession thing. How can that happen?" Gunn inquired, his head beginning to hurt from thinking too much.
"It's almost like the demon vampire taking the soul of the human being. It gives her no inhibitions, no conscience, no nothing, just the urge to feed. Just the animal instincts. And she has Slayer powers on top of that animal power. She's going to be hard to take her down without seriously hurting her." Angel thought out loud.
Gunn remained silent, taking it everything Angel had just said. He scanned the area one more time, then said, "You ready to go?"
"Yeah, let's go. There's nothing here." Angel replied, following Gunn slowly. He had the feeling he was being watched. The little hairs on the back of his neck bristled at the feeling. He turned around and saw nothing, but the feeling didn't subside. He walked away slowly.
A pair of cat eyes watched him leave.