Chapter 6
"Another disappearance." Cordelia cut through the silence in disbelief, sliding the newspaper article over to Angel. "It's the fourth one this week."
Angel scanned over the article. "Says here that looks as if this disappearance has something to do with a wild animal loose. Which ties it to the other disappearances. It also says that there was some blood and a few body parts left at the scene." Angel stared at the article. Cordelia cringed at the thought of body parts.
"So she's eating her victims at the scene of the crime." Wesley thought out loud.
Angel disagreed, turning his face away from the newspaper article. "Think about it. This is LA. If she would just eat her victim in the middle of a busy street, someone is bound to notice. All of the crime scenes were found hours after the initial attack. She's definitely storing her victims somewhere." Angel concluded.
"Where would she be taking them?" Gunn asked, looking at the article himself.
"Somewhere in the middle? Close-by to all of the crime scenes?" Cordy asked.
"Brilliant, Cordy!" Angel jumped up suddenly with an idea. He brought out a map and a marker and marked all of the places of attack. It formed a square. "Okay, we begin to check out this area as soon as night falls." He said triumphantly, indicating the area.
They split up. Wesley went with Angel south, while Gunn took Cordy north. They promised to keep in touch by cell phone if they found anything.
Wesley and Angel watched the streets carefully as Angel drove. They passed through the rougher parts of town, scanning the buildings and the alleys, scouring every inch.
All of a sudden, out of the sky dropped an animal, pouncing onto the nearest human being and tearing out the poor mortal's throat. Angel screeched to a halt as Wesley leapt from the still moving car and sprinted towards the animal. Angel followed, staring at the animal. He unexpectedly stopped in his tracks, realizing with a dull sickness in his heart that the animal was Serena. The change is almost complete. The thoughts crept into his mind. You have to stop her now, Angel. Just don't hurt her. Stop her.
He ran towards Serena and jumped, landing on her back. She growled in surprise, flying into a wall. She grunted, and turned ready to attack Angel, but stopped when she saw his face. She just held her ground and glared. Wesley inched up behind Angel.
"That is strange. Why don't you suppose she's attacking you?" Wesley asked wondrously, watching the animal carefully. She remained where she was.
"I don't know. She's tackled me before, and swiped at me, but she's never seriously hurt me." He didn't move his eyes from the feline, but listened closely to Wesley.
"A part of her is still human. The part that loves you, that wouldn't hurt you. She senses who you are and that human part does is fighting the animal side not to attack you. This may be what we need to save her." Wesley thought out loud. "Angel, you'll have to cover for me. I'm going to go get the spell and come back. Keys?"
Angel cautiously tossed him the keys, keeping his eyes on the feline in front of him. Wesley took off running, but she barely noticed. She kept her shoulders hunched, her eyes staring into his, letting out a low growl. Before Angel realized what she was doing, she snatched her human snack into her mouth and took off running. Angel reacted and sped after. He watched her launch onto a rooftop, her midnight snack still held tightly. He closed his eyes and propelled himself upwards, barely making it onto the roof. He followed Serena rooftop to rooftop, until suddenly, he lost her. He spun around, and a light breeze blew, fanning the scent of fresh blood his way. He cautiously stepped towards a trap door that he guessed led to the attic. It creaked loudly as he slowly opened it, slipping down through it and landing in a dark room. He squinted in the dark and found a string, pulling it. Light flooded the room, illuminating a grotesque sight.
As he suspected, he found himself in an attic. What he didn't bargain for were the 4 half-eaten corpses lying scattered everywhere. Angel swallowed, trying to remain calm. He spotted Serena in the corner, chewing on an arm. She seemed aware of his presence, but also seemed relaxed, at ease. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and punched in Cordy's number. He told her what was going on and where he was, as well as to call Wesley. He hung up hastily.
Within ten minutes, Angel heard Wesley's footsteps on the roof. The squeaky trapdoor opened once again and Wesley and Gunn dropped down. Serena, who had been sitting calmly only a few seconds before, leapt to her feet defensively, bearing her teeth and growling. Wesley cautiously took a step forward. Serena flew at him, but Angel came between them. Serena pounced on Angel instead, landing on top of him. She realized who she tackled and quickly backed up, her ears flattening up against her head. She took a step back, but kept her eyes on Wesley and Gunn.
Wesley made the mistake of reaching into his pocket for the spell. Serena let out a warning growl.
"Angel, you're going to have to keep her calm while I perform this spell. Otherwise." Wesley told him grimly. Angel understood what he needed to do.
Wesley once again went to reach for the spell in his pocket and Serena lunged at him. Angel saw it coming and once again intervened, driving himself forward into the flying feline. He caught her and flung her across the room. He landed on top of her and held her abnormally thick wrists to the ground. Angel faintly heard Wesley speaking some demonic spell to change Serena back.
Serena struggled against Angel to get free. Her claws raked at his arms, leaving bloody trails running down them. She howled in anger.
"Come on Serena! Fight it!" Angel snarled, glaring into her eyes. He felt a gust of wind and glanced at Wesley. He had his eyes closed and was muttering the incantation repetitiously under his breath.
Serena screamed in pain, trying hopelessly to get free. "Don't let it get to you! Fight it!" Angel called to her. "Please, do it for me. I love you."
As if understanding him, she stared into his eyes. Her eyes transformed from the cat eyes to her beautiful dark ones. She let out a shriek that went right through him like a cold wind. He shuddered. Wesley even looked up from his piece of paper to mutter, "It's working.", and then cringed. Gunn placed his fingers in his ears.
She let out another bone-chilling cry and squeezed her eyes shut, tossing her head from side to side. The fur began to disappear. The face became normal. The claws retracted and vanished. In a matter of seconds, Serena was lying there, totally normal.
She looked up at Angel. He gently let go of her wrists. She crawled out from beneath him and looked around, quickly crawling over to one of the corpses.
"No, no no." she mumbled hysterically, wiping away her tears. "No." She began to perform CPR. Angel realized she went over the edge.
"Come on, wake up. Don't die, please, please don't die!" she pleaded. She scurried to another corpse, breathing into its mouth in hopes of it reviving. "No, no, no." She shook her head in disbelief. "You can't be dead. No."
Angel went over to her and helped her stand. He put an arm around her to help her walk. She went over the edge of hysteria. "I killed them, Angel. They're dead. All of them. I did it." she sobbed, her knees buckling. She collapsed to the floor, bringing Angel with her. He pulled her to him and held her whiled she cried against him.
She looked up staring into his eyes, her eyes dark and huge with fright. "I am a Slayer. I am supposed to save people, to preserve humanity against demons. But I gave into it and I killed innocent lives. What kind of Slayer am I? I don't deserve this title anymore. I'm a murderer. Plain and simple." He couldn't bear to hear her talk anymore. He just pulled her to him and she sobbed in his arms until she stopped from sheer exhaustion. Angel carried her from the slaughterhouse and took her back to the hotel.
"Another disappearance." Cordelia cut through the silence in disbelief, sliding the newspaper article over to Angel. "It's the fourth one this week."
Angel scanned over the article. "Says here that looks as if this disappearance has something to do with a wild animal loose. Which ties it to the other disappearances. It also says that there was some blood and a few body parts left at the scene." Angel stared at the article. Cordelia cringed at the thought of body parts.
"So she's eating her victims at the scene of the crime." Wesley thought out loud.
Angel disagreed, turning his face away from the newspaper article. "Think about it. This is LA. If she would just eat her victim in the middle of a busy street, someone is bound to notice. All of the crime scenes were found hours after the initial attack. She's definitely storing her victims somewhere." Angel concluded.
"Where would she be taking them?" Gunn asked, looking at the article himself.
"Somewhere in the middle? Close-by to all of the crime scenes?" Cordy asked.
"Brilliant, Cordy!" Angel jumped up suddenly with an idea. He brought out a map and a marker and marked all of the places of attack. It formed a square. "Okay, we begin to check out this area as soon as night falls." He said triumphantly, indicating the area.
They split up. Wesley went with Angel south, while Gunn took Cordy north. They promised to keep in touch by cell phone if they found anything.
Wesley and Angel watched the streets carefully as Angel drove. They passed through the rougher parts of town, scanning the buildings and the alleys, scouring every inch.
All of a sudden, out of the sky dropped an animal, pouncing onto the nearest human being and tearing out the poor mortal's throat. Angel screeched to a halt as Wesley leapt from the still moving car and sprinted towards the animal. Angel followed, staring at the animal. He unexpectedly stopped in his tracks, realizing with a dull sickness in his heart that the animal was Serena. The change is almost complete. The thoughts crept into his mind. You have to stop her now, Angel. Just don't hurt her. Stop her.
He ran towards Serena and jumped, landing on her back. She growled in surprise, flying into a wall. She grunted, and turned ready to attack Angel, but stopped when she saw his face. She just held her ground and glared. Wesley inched up behind Angel.
"That is strange. Why don't you suppose she's attacking you?" Wesley asked wondrously, watching the animal carefully. She remained where she was.
"I don't know. She's tackled me before, and swiped at me, but she's never seriously hurt me." He didn't move his eyes from the feline, but listened closely to Wesley.
"A part of her is still human. The part that loves you, that wouldn't hurt you. She senses who you are and that human part does is fighting the animal side not to attack you. This may be what we need to save her." Wesley thought out loud. "Angel, you'll have to cover for me. I'm going to go get the spell and come back. Keys?"
Angel cautiously tossed him the keys, keeping his eyes on the feline in front of him. Wesley took off running, but she barely noticed. She kept her shoulders hunched, her eyes staring into his, letting out a low growl. Before Angel realized what she was doing, she snatched her human snack into her mouth and took off running. Angel reacted and sped after. He watched her launch onto a rooftop, her midnight snack still held tightly. He closed his eyes and propelled himself upwards, barely making it onto the roof. He followed Serena rooftop to rooftop, until suddenly, he lost her. He spun around, and a light breeze blew, fanning the scent of fresh blood his way. He cautiously stepped towards a trap door that he guessed led to the attic. It creaked loudly as he slowly opened it, slipping down through it and landing in a dark room. He squinted in the dark and found a string, pulling it. Light flooded the room, illuminating a grotesque sight.
As he suspected, he found himself in an attic. What he didn't bargain for were the 4 half-eaten corpses lying scattered everywhere. Angel swallowed, trying to remain calm. He spotted Serena in the corner, chewing on an arm. She seemed aware of his presence, but also seemed relaxed, at ease. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and punched in Cordy's number. He told her what was going on and where he was, as well as to call Wesley. He hung up hastily.
Within ten minutes, Angel heard Wesley's footsteps on the roof. The squeaky trapdoor opened once again and Wesley and Gunn dropped down. Serena, who had been sitting calmly only a few seconds before, leapt to her feet defensively, bearing her teeth and growling. Wesley cautiously took a step forward. Serena flew at him, but Angel came between them. Serena pounced on Angel instead, landing on top of him. She realized who she tackled and quickly backed up, her ears flattening up against her head. She took a step back, but kept her eyes on Wesley and Gunn.
Wesley made the mistake of reaching into his pocket for the spell. Serena let out a warning growl.
"Angel, you're going to have to keep her calm while I perform this spell. Otherwise." Wesley told him grimly. Angel understood what he needed to do.
Wesley once again went to reach for the spell in his pocket and Serena lunged at him. Angel saw it coming and once again intervened, driving himself forward into the flying feline. He caught her and flung her across the room. He landed on top of her and held her abnormally thick wrists to the ground. Angel faintly heard Wesley speaking some demonic spell to change Serena back.
Serena struggled against Angel to get free. Her claws raked at his arms, leaving bloody trails running down them. She howled in anger.
"Come on Serena! Fight it!" Angel snarled, glaring into her eyes. He felt a gust of wind and glanced at Wesley. He had his eyes closed and was muttering the incantation repetitiously under his breath.
Serena screamed in pain, trying hopelessly to get free. "Don't let it get to you! Fight it!" Angel called to her. "Please, do it for me. I love you."
As if understanding him, she stared into his eyes. Her eyes transformed from the cat eyes to her beautiful dark ones. She let out a shriek that went right through him like a cold wind. He shuddered. Wesley even looked up from his piece of paper to mutter, "It's working.", and then cringed. Gunn placed his fingers in his ears.
She let out another bone-chilling cry and squeezed her eyes shut, tossing her head from side to side. The fur began to disappear. The face became normal. The claws retracted and vanished. In a matter of seconds, Serena was lying there, totally normal.
She looked up at Angel. He gently let go of her wrists. She crawled out from beneath him and looked around, quickly crawling over to one of the corpses.
"No, no no." she mumbled hysterically, wiping away her tears. "No." She began to perform CPR. Angel realized she went over the edge.
"Come on, wake up. Don't die, please, please don't die!" she pleaded. She scurried to another corpse, breathing into its mouth in hopes of it reviving. "No, no, no." She shook her head in disbelief. "You can't be dead. No."
Angel went over to her and helped her stand. He put an arm around her to help her walk. She went over the edge of hysteria. "I killed them, Angel. They're dead. All of them. I did it." she sobbed, her knees buckling. She collapsed to the floor, bringing Angel with her. He pulled her to him and held her whiled she cried against him.
She looked up staring into his eyes, her eyes dark and huge with fright. "I am a Slayer. I am supposed to save people, to preserve humanity against demons. But I gave into it and I killed innocent lives. What kind of Slayer am I? I don't deserve this title anymore. I'm a murderer. Plain and simple." He couldn't bear to hear her talk anymore. He just pulled her to him and she sobbed in his arms until she stopped from sheer exhaustion. Angel carried her from the slaughterhouse and took her back to the hotel.