CHAPTER ELEVEN: TORTURED
Everything was quiet, though she could hear a metallic clinking if she listened hard enough. There was also repetitive dripping coming from behind her. He head felt heavy…her whole body felt heavy come to think of it. Her eyes were shut, she didn't even think she had the energy to open them if she wanted to.
She could feel another presence in the darkness with her. Even without opening her eyes, she could tell it would be pitch black if she were to open them. She didn't know who was with her, though she knew it was a vampire.
Her mind tried to sort everything out, but some part of her also didn't want to wake up to reality. She could tell that such an awakening would be far too painful.
A cold hand suddenly touched her stomach making her jump, startled. Her eyes opened and she tried to move defensively, but she finally realised that her hands were tied above her head, her back against a wall. She could also feel the cold bricks digging into her bare skin and she could tell that the vampire she hated more than any other had taken her clothing.
Her eyes automatically adjusted to the light and she could make out Angelus' features in the darkness. Holding in a groan she tried to stand up properly instead of letting her weight rest on her shackled wrists.
"You're awake," he said quietly. The voice made her shiver with remembrance. It was the mocking tones of Angelus trying to mimic the gentleness of Angel. She had heard it so many times when he had lost his soul.
"You're an asshole," she replied.
Her head flew to the side, his flat palm hitting her cheek with a resounding thwack. She tasted blood in her mouth and quickly spat it out, remembering the last time she had swallowed her own blood.
"A Slayer's blood is a powerful aphrodisiac luv."
Angelus grinned at her and gripped her chin tightly with one hand, making her eyes meet his in a hateful glare.
"You could have spared yourself the trouble Buff," he said tauntingly. "It didn't have to be this way."
"What way?" she asked, trying to move her jaw out of his painful grip.
He pressed a bruising kiss on her lips, his hand still holding her head in place, making it impossible for her to jerk away from him. She didn't respond to him in anyway and he eventually pulled back, her blood on his mouth. She could feel the cut on her swollen lips, but was in no position to do anything about the blood dripping down her chin.
"We could've been together Buff. You and me, forever. Just the way it was meant to be," he said. He brought his mouth down to the juncture between her neck and her shoulder, kissing it sensually. His hands ran gently across her stomach, moving up to her breasts.
She closed her eyes, repeating a short mantra over in her head. "Don't let it get to you, don't let it get to you, don't let it get to you."
He chuckled suddenly as though he could hear her silent motto.
"You remember that night don't you Buff?" he whispered, his mouth coming up to suck gently at her earlobe, tugging gently.
She breathed in sharply even though she didn't need to.
"I remember," she whispered.
She tried to make her voice sound as though she was enjoying the movements of his mouth on her ear.
"You were a terrible lover," she said, her eyes dancing as she mocked him.
He growled and suddenly sank his teeth into the lobe of her ear, violently pulling out one of her earrings with his fangs. She cried out in pain and glared hatefully at him as he spat the small silver sleeper onto the ground.
"Say that again," he dared her, his teeth bared.
She moved to say it again but his hands come up to her ear, flicking the lobe. She cried out again, trying to get away from the hand that began squeezing the wound viciously.
He stopped suddenly when he saw tears fill her eyes. He brought his hand away from her ear and up to her face, smearing it with her own blood. He caressed her gently as he had done so many times before, though she had never flinched away from his touch before.
"Don't cry luv," he said. At that moment, he sounded so much like Spike that she gave a soft whimper and leant into the comfort of his hand.
He gave a feral grin and brought his lips to her neck, gently kissing the mark that Spike had made. He could tell it was a fresh wound, meaning that his childe had fed off the Slayer sometime that day. The very thought made his blood boil, and once again, something inside of him snapped.
Quickly, his teeth sunk into her skin, the chained girl giving a sharp yelp of pain as he began drinking. He could taste Spike in her blood, could taste the power of Slayer's blood coursing through her and into his mouth. He swallowed greedily, like a young child suckling from its mother.
He stopped when he felt her pass out from blood loss. With a final glare at the unconscious Slayer, he settled back into the old sofa that resided in the Summers' basement. He smiled, knowing he had picked the perfect location. No one would ever think to look for her in her own home, especially with Joyce gone away for the week.
~*~
Willow was frantic, moving across the floor of Giles' apartment like a caged animal. She was wracking her brain, trying to think of places where Angelus would have taken Buffy that no one would think about.
"What about the library? He knows we wouldn't even think to look there," she said, looking up hopefully.
Spike shook his head sadly. "It's too obvious, even for him."
Xander just sat at the table, his head in his hands. Fear struck through him and he looked up at Giles with tear filled eyes.
"Have you spoken to her mom?" he asked.
Giles shook his head. "She said she was going to be away for the week at an art exhibit. She offered to stay, but Buffy felt it was best if she went ahead as planned. Probably safer for her to be away at the moment."
Spike nodded his agreement and continued to try and work out where Angelus would have taken his Slayer. He sighed loudly and stood up from the couch.
"We're no good to her just sitting around here. We need to look for her," he said.
Giles nodded his agreement. "Quite right. Willow, Xander, I want you two to stick together. No heroics. Especially not against Angelus," he warned.
He handed them each a cross and stake and opened up the door to his apartment.
"Check the school, just in case. I'll be at one of the cemeteries if you need me. Make sure you stay together at all times," he repeated.
The two nodded and walked out, wishing the two Brits 'good luck' before closing the door behind them.
Giles opened up a chest at the bottom of the stairs and threw Spike a sword and a stake. He picked up a small battle axe for himself and went to the door.
"I'll look through the cemeteries, search through the crypts and the like," Giles said.
Spike nodded and followed the Watcher out the door. "I'll take the usual demon haunts, beat up Willy, see if he's heard anything. News spreads fast in Sunnydale."
Giles nodded and the two went their separate ways, fear gripping each of them. They had both been subjected to Angelus' cruelty, and neither men wanted the Slayer to have first hand experience of what her first lover was truly capable of.
~*~
She awoke, an acute sense of hunger gripping her stomach. Her head felt light compared to the rest of her body, and she knew that if she wasn't fed soon, she wouldn't be awake for much longer.
She could smell blood in the air, her own, her mind whispered quietly to her. The smell was driving her crazy with hunger, and the vampire on the other side of the room knew it.
Angelus chuckled slightly and stood up, enjoying the sight of the Slayer, bound and helpless. He moved towards her and put his hands on her tiny waist. She struggled against him, but his grip just became tighter until she eventually stopped, knowing that he wouldn't give.
"Hungry?" he asked.
A dim memory came to her. Her Sire had woken her up with the same words only a few days ago. It felt like a life-time had passed since then.
She looked up at him, hatred written clearly in her eyes. He grinned at her, enjoying the look on her face. He pushed his face forward so that their noses bumped against one another. She tried to pull back, but the back of her head found a brick wall stopping her.
"Yes or no Buff. It's a one time deal, today only," he said.
Somehow, she knew he wasn't kidding.
Her eyes closed, knowing that she was defeated. He would break her by using her weaknesses, ones that couldn't be helped. Her need for blood was one of them.
"Tick tock, tick tock," he said, looking down at his wrist, even though he wore no watch.
"Yes," she managed to strangle out. Her mouth was unbearably dry, her throat hurting terribly, both inside and out. She could feel the dry blood on her throat, the two deep puncture wounds on her neck opening if she made any sharp movements.
Angelus grinned at her admission. His hands slid up her back, pushing her body off the wall. He pulled her onto him, grinding his body against hers. She tried to pull away, but he had the advantage of two free hands and of not being weakened by blood loss.
"You didn't say please," he whispered cruelly.
She closed her eyes, wondering when this never-ending nightmare would stop. In the forty-eight hours that she had been a vampire, she had been kidnapped twice and drained of her strength, energy and blood.
She didn't say a word, not wanting to let him win this sadistic game he was trying to make her play. She knew that the second she gave in, he would win the entire battle, and that was something she did not want to happen.
"Come on Buff," he whispered. His hands ran up her arms, squeezing her wrists. She didn't even want to know how she had pins and needles seeing as she didn't technically have circulation, but her arms felt numb under his hands. "Beg me for it."
She looked up at him, knowing she would regret not asking him for food, knowing her body wouldn't last very long without it, but also knowing that she would lose the second she said 'please'.
"You should know I'm not the begging type," she said.
He growled loudly and stepped away from her. He leered at her and leant his head forward to her ear again, his tongue dancing over the lobe that he had maimed the evening before, reminding her that she couldn't defend herself against any of his attacks.
"You'll be begging me before long Buff. I promise you that."
He stepped back and went to walk up the stairs. He chuckled to himself as he heard her reply.
"You'll have to stake me before I beg you for anything, you overgrown mosquito."
He stopped short on the stairs and looked back at her. "When I'm through with you, you'll beg me to stake you."
The door slammed shut behind him, leaving her alone in the darkness, frightened and starving. She closed her eyes, not willing to admit defeat even though she knew that she was completely and utterly screwed.