"They're dead?" Spike echoed.
"Uh huh. That's why I came here."
"Why did you come here?" he asked.
"Because they told me if anything happened that I should find Grandma Hattie. Only when I found her house she wasn't home." She looked at her feet. "They always had secrets because sometimes I'd walk in and they would stop talking and tell me to go away." Spike and Buffy looked at each other.
"Do you remember what happened?" She asked gently.
"Well, mommy told me to run and so I did and I hid behind a tree. And then I saw these men with scary masks…" She paused as tears ran down her face. "I don't wanna talk about this anymore." Spike walked over and hugged her.
"It's all right, pet. We'll find your grandma."
"What were your mommy and daddy's names?"
"Marcus and Olivia."
"I think that's enough for now, ok?" he said.
"Ok…I'll go look it up." She stood up and paused a moment to look at the two, hugging, and she smiled. She turned and headed to where Willow had left her laptop- the dining room. She flipped up the top, connected to the internet, and began her search.
})i({ })i({ })i({ })i({ })i({
"So, what do we got?" He asked while intently gazing over her shoulder.
"Well, I've pulled up three missing Van Burens in Texas. Olivia, Marcus, and-,"
"Amelia."
"Right. And they lived on St. Clair Avenue. Says here they disappeared a few days ago, and they suspect foul play because there was blood everywhere. They still haven't found the parents." She said looking up.
"What about their jobs?"
"It doesn't say here. I don't know if I can find it…"
"Can you try?"
She sighed. "Ok. It might take a while."
"I can wait." He said. About fifteen minutes passed with him just pacing behind her when he decided to break the silence. "Where did you learn how to use a computer?"
"Well," she said distractedly, "When Willow was gone over the summer, we still had to research. Dawn helped me with the basics, and I kind of just picked up on the rest."
"Why was she-,"
"Ah ha! Finally. Here we go. They worked for the council. Looks like they were the hunters…they sought out nests of demons and vamps and killed them all. You think maybe someone's mad? Maybe they killed their girlfriend or something?"
"I don't know…but it's a likely possibility. I think we should visit her Grandma, too. See if she knows anything."
"Good idea. We can check it out tonight. Do you know where it is?"
"No, but she'll find it for us."
"You think she's…dependable? I mean, she's only five. Maybe she forgot where it was."
"We can check the neighbors, too. What time is it now?"
She looked at the bottom corner of the monitor. "It's three o'clock now. It took me a while to pull this up…"
"We'll leave as soon as the sun goes down. Sound good?"
"Sure."
})i{( })i({ })i({ })i({ })i({
Night fell upon the town and all was quiet. The cicadas creaked and a slight breeze rustled some leaves along the road. The only sound was the three sets of footsteps heading down to the street on an important mission.
"Do you remember what the street was called?" Spike asked gently.
"I think it was Rosemary."
"Ok." They found the street and began walking down it, past cozy little cottages. Amelia looked around for a little bit, and then stopped in front of a nice red and white colored house.
"This one."
"You sure?"
"Uh huh." She walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. No one answered. Buffy stepped up and turned the doorknob. It was unlocked. They stepped inside.
"Grandma Hattie? Grandma Hattie? Where are you?" Spike and Buffy stood by the door while she looked around inside. She came back with a sad look on her face. "She's not here."
"Let's go next door and see if she's there, ok?" He took her hand and they journeyed to the neighboring house. He knocked three times. A little old man came to the door. He grinned.
"Hello. Can I help you?" His hand shook as it gripped the door.
"We were wondering," said Spike, "if you have seen the lady who lives next door. Her name is Hattie."
"Oh, I know her, sure! What's it you wanna ask me about her?"
"Have you seen her recently?"
"No, I haven't. I'm- yes! A-a few days ago! She came over, oh, she was crying. She said that her daughter and her husband were missing. Such a pity…so much violence nowadays, you know?"
"Yes…yes…so a few days ago? Right after her daughter and son-in-law disappeared?"
"Yes, I believe so."
"Arthur? Who is that you're talking to?" a female voice in the house hollered.
"Some friends of Hattie." That seemed to satisfy her. "I hope you'll see her. Good luck, young man."
"Thank you, sir." He said. They turned and began to walk home.
"She isn't hurt, is she Spike? She's gonna be ok, right?"
"Of course, luv, I promise." His heart was heavy. Amelia gripped his hand more tightly after these words. Buffy stayed silent. She felt she had to do something, so she walked up next to the little girl and took her other hand. They walked in silence and were almost to the Summer's house when a girl stepped out from behind a tree.
"Looking for someone?" She said. Her pixie hair was ruffled a little by a sudden breeze.
"Why do you ask?" Buffy challenged, stepping up to her.
"Because I think I know who you're after. And I also know you won't find her there."
"Who are you?"
"Who wants to know?"
"Spike, take Amelia inside. I'll handle this." He nodded and they left. "Ok, how bout this: Who sent you?"
"I'm January. And you don't need to know the rest yet. See that little girl? She's mine. You'll see…I'll snatch her when you least expect it."
"Why her?"
"Why not? We did away with the rest of them. Well, not the grandma…yet." She chuckled. "Ryan had his way with her parents, now I want her." Buffy threw a punch at her which January ducked. She chuckled again, and disappeared just as quickly as she had appeared. Buffy stood there for a moment, stunned, and then shrugged.
Author's Note: Ok, so I'm not good at strong villains. Or strong anything at this point. But I'm going to make this an action story! Don't bail on me now!