CHAPTER TWO
I wasn't sure how long it was before Lilah came back for me; two, maybe three days judging by how many meals I was brought. I tried to refuse to eat or drink, realizing the LSD had to be in the bottled water I gave Connor. Lilah touched the meat with bare hands, but then again I didn't really know if that would make you absorb LSD or not. Either way, I was afraid they'd try to drug me with food and water, but I couldn't go without drinking no matter how hard I tried. The drugs ended up inside me and the hormones, too, no doubt. I could feel them. My breasts hurt. I was getting pimply and moody and I was horny as heck. I had never felt it this strongly. I hated Lilah passionately. How could she do this to another woman? I guessed all that mattered to her is the power. I was powerful, if she was right about me being a key to more than one dimension.
Lilah wore a smart linen pantsuit when she came to get me. I hated her for her clean clothing alone. All I had was a bare toilet in my cell, no tub, no sink, no toothbrush. I was covered with red marks from me scratching at my dirty skin. My hair felt like bugs were crawling in it.
"Come on. We don't have a lot of time," Lilah said, tapping her expensively shoed toes.
"I'm not going." I had no plans of being hauled off and impregnated without a fight, but I had no way of really holding them off. They could overpower me or just drug me. Heck, for all I knew they had already done it while I was unconscious and something weird was growing inside me.
"What?" Her eyes widened then she waved me off. "No, not that, like we'd let you be awake for that. This is fun and games time."
I got up and followed her, thoughts about me not being awake for the impregnation ringing in my head. That was my great fear. If they wanted to knock me out, there wasn't much I could do about it. I felt cold and small, overcome by a feeling of helplessness so strong I could barely breathe. It was like being on the tower again, or under the earth with Buffy as the zombies clawed at us, or standing with Xander in the school, knowing I was about to die. I stumbled after Lilah, back down the corridors we had traveled before. She was taking me to Connor. Fun and games? They must be fighting him tonight.
My suspicions were confirmed. I could hear a cheering crowd through the door. The room was cool but jam packed with people, all human; men and women dressed like they were going to the ballet rather than watch a boy fight demons to the death. Lilah escorted me like a princess, a very filthy one, to the best seats. She sat beside me and I wondered how she could stand. I stank like the geeky gamers in the comic book shop Xander often took me to growing up. I liked the comic books, but I always felt like a lot of the men in there had never seen a girl, let alone touch one. At least Xander was a well-kept geek who knew what soap and water were for. Andrew fit in with the other crowd. Right now, I smelled like I fit in, too.
"Comfy?" Lilah asked.
I wanted to strangle her with her own silk scarf. "Does it matter?"
She scowled at me. "Not really." "If you cared, you'd give me a bath and a toothbrush."
"You have a point," Lilah said as a bundle of weapons were tossed into the enclosure. I noticed that a dome had been added so whatever they were putting in there with him could fly.
Lilah had made a mistake in bringing me here. I could see the other guests coming in across from me. I didn't know where that doorway went, but I didn't think it would be as labyrinthine as the path we took. They weren't prisoners. I could be wrong, but I couldn't see people paying a thousand dollars a seat being willing to put up with nonsense.
Connor came out of the cave as soon as the weapons dropped. He pulled the bundle closer to the cave and unwrapped it. I could almost feel the crowd tensing in anticipation. The cheering actually started when three gates into the enclosure opened. I heard a weird rustling noise and out of the gate popped what looked like three black giant mops wriggling under their own power. Once the mop-things were in the enclosure they uprighted and I nearly screamed. They were floating heads with eyes that seemed to bleed fire. Iron grey teeth gnashed like bars of the Connor's cage. The hair writhed like snakes, propelling the heads along. One flew far too near for me, drooling gobs of yellowish spit on the glass. The stench was awful even through the protective dome. Would it be bad if the Slayer's sister barfed everywhere? Connor didn't seemed fazed. There was a gleam in his eye that said he was ready for this, that he enjoyed it. That was almost as disturbing as the things in the ring with him.
"What are they?" I shivered, shrinking back in my chair.
"Flying heads." Lilah shrugged then off my look added, "Don't blame me. I didn't name them."
"They're horrible."
"I'm sure the Iroquois thought so, too," Lilah replied and I wondered what they had to do with it.
"They could swallow Connor whole," I said. I didn't know what the thing would do with him if it ate him. It was just a head. Maybe it had guts up in its skull. I didn't want to think about it.
Connor had sword in hand. He grabbed one of the ropes and swung up at a head. The thing bobbed out of the way. Connor fell, hit ground, bounced and got another by its whipping hair. He shoved his sword straight through the eye. The crowd groaned as if disappointed he killed one so fast.
He leaped off the plummeting head, arcing in a back flip onto the tree branch. He was beautiful in motion, like Buffy and Faith. Or maybe I should say Spike and Angel. For once I could see his father in him. Connor moved quickly, maybe even more so than Angel.
He ran up the wall and kicked off, grabbing the hair of another head. He drew back with the sword and the third head's strong jaws caught the blade, wrenching it free. Connor lost his grip and fell. The head he had been about to slay swooped under him and snapped him up like a Scooby snack.
Beside me, Lilah stiffened. It wasn't in her plans to get Connor killed and as much as I didn't want to be forced to have his baby, I didn't want him to die horribly. A loud cracking sound echoed through the enclosure as teeth shattered. The thing howled and Connor popped free, coated in yellow drool.
He hit the ground running and snatched up an axe. Like a handball, he bounced off the stone wall and sliced into the injured head. It went down but Connor lost his axe. The last head flew after him, shrieking but he was out of distance weapons. He leapt and tore down a tree branch. He impaled the last head with an accuracy I'm sure Buffy would have appreciated. The crowd was on its feet, cheering
"Amazing, isn't he?" Lilah asked.
"Yes, but why bring me here? Just to show off?" I was wondering about that. Removing me from my cell only increased my chances of escape.
"Actually, they say that having parents together, bonding, makes for a healthier pregnancy and better baby." She patted my hand, faking concern for me.
"I'm not bonding to him. I'm a little afraid of him," I admitted as if that would dissuade her.
"Understandable. We'll wait for the room to clear before taking you away. Maybe you can have a little alone time with him." She smirked at me again.
I looked at the boy covered in yellow spit. I didn't want to be alone with him. I was more than willing to wait, my eyes on the public door as secretly as I could keep them there. It looked like a straight shot up from that door, a ramp. Maybe it led out but could I get away from Lilah?
Soon the room was empty and Lilah went back to the fridge in the wall, opening it. "I think just the water this time. It's good to keep him hungry. Give it to him."
I took the bottle but when she opened the window in the bars, I backed away. "He reeks. I don't want to get near him."
"You're no rose, yourself," Lilah snapped. "Now give him that water."
"No." I stomped my foot. I knew how to throw a monster-sized fit and was prepared to do so.
"Fine." Lilah snatched the bottle away. "You're tempting me to put you in there with him, just to see what happens."
As she leaned in to hand him the water, I grabbed the barred window and rammed it into her. She grunted, dropping the bottle. I slammed the door on her a few more times. Connor ignored me, more interested in his water. He held the uprighted bottle with both hands, slurping noisily. Lilah slumped and I kicked her in the knee. I had to be sure that she couldn't follow me. I grabbed her hair and jerked her head back so I could shove it into the wall.
I shrieked when her head came off in my hands. It slowly spun around as I stood there holding it by the hair. Her eyes winked at me and her perfectly rouged lips mouthed, 'surprise,' unable to make sounds without lungs behind them. I dropped the horrible thing and raced for the door. I had to dodge through the seats. As I reached the door, which thankfully wasn't locked, I looked back and saw Lilah putting her head back on. Something clanked open, sounding like the gates the heads had come through.
"Go after her, Connor. Bring her back alive."
Oh God, no. Thankfully I had on tennis shoes instead of those chunky heeled things me and Buffy were slaves of fashion to. I sprinted up the corridor and hit the door at the other end hard, nearly bowling over a few of the fancy dressed fight pervs who were loitering around talking. I was out the door and into a parking lot surrounded by woods. It was cool, surprising me. It was summer, after all.
I didn't stop to see if I could get into a car. I knew nothing about hot- wiring. I had nothing to stage a car jacking with and I knew that if these people were here for the fight they'd hardly be likely to help me escape.
I made it to the tree line. I hated running in the woods. I was such a city girl. I was stunned that there wasn't a fence but then, there it was a hundred yards out, Chicken wire topped with hoops of razor wire. How as I going to get up that? I ran along the fence line, hearing something in the woods behind me; Connor with a full load of LSD in him, no doubt.
I saw a maple or an oak or something. I don't know one tree from the other. The important thing was that it had a fat branch that hung over the fence. I managed to climb the tree, which was harder than I thought it would be. I nearly slipped off onto the razor wire as I shimmied out on the branch. The drop to the other side jarred me so hard I thought my head was going to come off just like Lilah's. I didn't fall on my butt, shocking myself. It took me a moment to start running. I could see Connor nearing the fence. Don't look, Dawn, just run.
I couldn't listen to my inner voice. I ran, turning my head to see if he was gaining on me just like all those stupid chicks in the horror flicks Xander liked to rent. Connor cleared the fence in one mighty leap. Dear God, what was he? A boy Slayer? I couldn't outrun something like him.
I concentrated on running, continuing my blind path through the dense woods. I wanted to cry for help, but not for Buffy. I wanted my Mom, as ridiculous as it was. My foot caught on a log and I went sprawling. Twigs and rocks tore into me but I managed to get back up. I grabbed the offending piece of tree and hefted it. He was right behind me now. I felt his approach, like a bunny feels the hawk. I whirled with that branch so hard I took him off his feet. The blow made my shoulders ache but I kept pounding him on the head with the log. Did I feel something break? Had I killed him? It felt like bone had given under the wood. I was going to be sick.
He wasn't moving. I had nothing to tie him up with, not even a belt. He was gurgling. I could see bubbles on his lips, blood maybe? I could smell blood even through the reek of the flying head drool. I couldn't see it in the dark and I couldn't worry about it. He was down and this was my only chance. I brought the branch down in his face then dropped it.
I started running again. My scraped skin and twisted ankle burned like acid. I pressed on. I couldn't believe how dark it was in the woods. I couldn't see the sky. There was no moonlight. I kept tripping over roots and rocks. Old leaf litter proved to be as slick as ice. Branches tore at my hair; once I got so entangled I had to tear away so hard my scalp was bleeding. Let me get out of here and I swear I'll cut my hair short.
I paused, my sides feeling like I'd been knifed. It felt like I had swallowed fire into my lungs, my throat raw and thick. My legs trembled. Over my panting, the forest was alive with sound. They tell you the woods are quiet. They lied. Crickets, owls and other things I didn't know, frogs maybe, chorused loudly. Then I heard something else, snapping branches. Someone was after me. It was Connor or maybe another of Wolfram and Hart's people. Either way, I had to move.
I couldn't get up to speed. My chest felt like it was being crushed, my muscles were spasming so badly. I was so out of shape, too dependent on a rescue from Buffy. If I lived, never again would I be dependent on anyone.
My foot found a hole and I pitched forward. The next thing I knew, I was tumbling down the hill. When the world stopped spinning, I was half buried in a stand of wild roses, their thorns pricking me. They smelled so pretty. For an insane moment all I could do was lie there, drinking in their scent in the summer air, heedless of the thorns spilling pearls of my blood.
I forced myself up and fell again. My ankle and knee ground like they were filled with broken glass. Oh, please don't let me have a broken ankle. A loud inhuman growl sounded in the woods followed by thrashing. Somehow I knew it was Connor. Maybe the LSD had caught up to him and he was fighting things in his head. I should be so lucky.
I tried standing again and managed it, but I couldn't run. There was too much pain and my ankle wobbled. I stumbled along the stand of roses. Fog started creeping around them, ghostly in the darkness. What more can go wrong? I can't even see as it was. The fog thickened. I heard some strange sound rushing through the woods. It reminded me of waves but different.
I didn't have time to think about it. Connor came through the underbrush. The fog made him seem bigger, more than he was. I should have killed him when I had him down. Only I've never killed a person before. Demons yes, but a person, I must not have it in me. I tried to go faster. I nearly stumbled into the roses then caught a tree, using it to push off. A few more steps and I found the source of the weird sound. I had run to a river. It was full and wide and so fast. If I went into it, I'd die for sure.
Gasping for air, sobbing maybe, I tried to find another way. Connor crashed into me and we went down into the roses. Thorns tore at my face as I hit ground. For someone so little, Connor felt enormous, like I had been run down by a pit bull. His growling only helped that image. I hit him in the face, feeling bristly hair and tacky blood under my hand. He head butted me, making me see stars. I tried to push him off and he bit my flailing arm, drawing blood. I screamed and hit him harder. He punched me in the gut, taking away my breath. My bleeding arm fell into the roses, tearing it more.
Connor sat on me, straddling me. I didn't know what he was going to do, but I was too hurt to stop him. He had killed three giant heads like they were nothing, so I didn't know what I thought I could do anyhow. He was staring at me curiously. Was he seeing me? An LSD hallucination or was he trapped in his own madness? Then I heard something odd, felt it deep to the bone. Magic. The rose hedge started shimmering with a red light and it began to grow upwards. Both Connor and I watched it, mesmerized. It turned into a woman, beautiful and serene looking. Her hair fell around her in a long sheet that looked black in the night. She smiled at me and said, "No fear."
And somehow I wasn't afraid any more. Connor was still on top of me but his growling had ceased. He sniffed at the woman and she ran a hand over his face like a mother with a child.
"You poor boy. There is so much sickness in you. It mingles with the poisons you've been fed." Her voice was like a melody as she caressed his face. "You are trapped in magics like a fly in a web."
"Someone did this to him," I stammered, not sure why.
Her dark gaze roved back over to me, her face utterly placid. "You are concerned for him even though he was going to hurt you."
I nodded. "It's not his fault. He's sick and they're making him do this." I had no earthly idea why I was defending Connor other than it was the truth.
Her face finally showed an emotion, a hint of anger. "Once, sickness took those I loved. I was blamed and hunted for it. No one should suffer like this." She captured Connor's head with both hands.
Connor didn't fight her. His eyes fluttered shut as he relaxed. I scrambled out from under him. Red light flowed out of her and entered him. Connor stiffened and jerked. She stepped back, and helped me up. She smelled of roses.
"What did you do to him?"
"This will hurt, but afterwards, he will be free of all the poisons, all the magics woven around him and into him." She stroked my hair, leaving ruby sparkles in it. "I can help your pain."
I nodded and her red light went into me. It felt warm, driving out all the pain, but if it was easy for me, it wasn't for Connor. I could hear him moaning. He started thrashing and screaming. I looked at the woman, shocked. Had I blindly placed trust in someone I shouldn't have? Had she hurt him?
"You helped me but him..."
"Your body only needed a little repair. He needs the badness drained out of him," she replied, her voice still the same soft timbre.
I hoped she knew what she was talking about. Connor rolled to his side, vomiting. He kept retching until nothing came out. He managed to crawl just a bit away from the puddle of puke then started retching again. This time light, a bluish white started coming out of him. I assumed that was the bad magics. He collapsed, groaning, once the icky light stopped flowing. He stopped moving; exhausted, I hoped, not dying. "Will he be all right?"
"Now he will. He's been carrying that magic in him for some time now. He needs to rest." She went over to Connor and touched his cheek. "Sleep."
"Someone's trying to keep us both prisoner. They might find us here. We have to get out of here."
She smiled at me again. "You'll be safe for the night. Tomorrow, follow the river south. It'll take you to where you need to be."
"Um...south?" Okay, so I didn't have an internal compass.
She pointed the way then turned and gestured to a soft looking patch of grass under a tree. "You also need sleep."
"Thank you." I stumbled for the spot then looked at her. "Who are you?"
"Hitcoga."
What an odd name, I thought as I stretched out on the ground. "Why did you help me?"
"These are my woods and innocents are safe here."
"But how did you know I needed help?"
She mouth pursed. "Your blood on the roses called me."
So she was from another dimension? I didn't care. I trusted her. It felt completely right to do so. "Well, thanks...for my life," I said, laying in the grass. I was never one for camping. I didn't even like picnics much. I didn't like being on the ground, with the bugs, but I could care less at this point. It didn't even matter I was trying to go to sleep only a few feet from the person Wolfram and Hart had sent to drag me back. I trusted Hitcoga instinctively. I wondered if she was one of the goddesses Willow and Tara used to invoke. She seemed like one. She was still watching me from the roses when I shut my eyes.
I wasn't sure how long it was before Lilah came back for me; two, maybe three days judging by how many meals I was brought. I tried to refuse to eat or drink, realizing the LSD had to be in the bottled water I gave Connor. Lilah touched the meat with bare hands, but then again I didn't really know if that would make you absorb LSD or not. Either way, I was afraid they'd try to drug me with food and water, but I couldn't go without drinking no matter how hard I tried. The drugs ended up inside me and the hormones, too, no doubt. I could feel them. My breasts hurt. I was getting pimply and moody and I was horny as heck. I had never felt it this strongly. I hated Lilah passionately. How could she do this to another woman? I guessed all that mattered to her is the power. I was powerful, if she was right about me being a key to more than one dimension.
Lilah wore a smart linen pantsuit when she came to get me. I hated her for her clean clothing alone. All I had was a bare toilet in my cell, no tub, no sink, no toothbrush. I was covered with red marks from me scratching at my dirty skin. My hair felt like bugs were crawling in it.
"Come on. We don't have a lot of time," Lilah said, tapping her expensively shoed toes.
"I'm not going." I had no plans of being hauled off and impregnated without a fight, but I had no way of really holding them off. They could overpower me or just drug me. Heck, for all I knew they had already done it while I was unconscious and something weird was growing inside me.
"What?" Her eyes widened then she waved me off. "No, not that, like we'd let you be awake for that. This is fun and games time."
I got up and followed her, thoughts about me not being awake for the impregnation ringing in my head. That was my great fear. If they wanted to knock me out, there wasn't much I could do about it. I felt cold and small, overcome by a feeling of helplessness so strong I could barely breathe. It was like being on the tower again, or under the earth with Buffy as the zombies clawed at us, or standing with Xander in the school, knowing I was about to die. I stumbled after Lilah, back down the corridors we had traveled before. She was taking me to Connor. Fun and games? They must be fighting him tonight.
My suspicions were confirmed. I could hear a cheering crowd through the door. The room was cool but jam packed with people, all human; men and women dressed like they were going to the ballet rather than watch a boy fight demons to the death. Lilah escorted me like a princess, a very filthy one, to the best seats. She sat beside me and I wondered how she could stand. I stank like the geeky gamers in the comic book shop Xander often took me to growing up. I liked the comic books, but I always felt like a lot of the men in there had never seen a girl, let alone touch one. At least Xander was a well-kept geek who knew what soap and water were for. Andrew fit in with the other crowd. Right now, I smelled like I fit in, too.
"Comfy?" Lilah asked.
I wanted to strangle her with her own silk scarf. "Does it matter?"
She scowled at me. "Not really." "If you cared, you'd give me a bath and a toothbrush."
"You have a point," Lilah said as a bundle of weapons were tossed into the enclosure. I noticed that a dome had been added so whatever they were putting in there with him could fly.
Lilah had made a mistake in bringing me here. I could see the other guests coming in across from me. I didn't know where that doorway went, but I didn't think it would be as labyrinthine as the path we took. They weren't prisoners. I could be wrong, but I couldn't see people paying a thousand dollars a seat being willing to put up with nonsense.
Connor came out of the cave as soon as the weapons dropped. He pulled the bundle closer to the cave and unwrapped it. I could almost feel the crowd tensing in anticipation. The cheering actually started when three gates into the enclosure opened. I heard a weird rustling noise and out of the gate popped what looked like three black giant mops wriggling under their own power. Once the mop-things were in the enclosure they uprighted and I nearly screamed. They were floating heads with eyes that seemed to bleed fire. Iron grey teeth gnashed like bars of the Connor's cage. The hair writhed like snakes, propelling the heads along. One flew far too near for me, drooling gobs of yellowish spit on the glass. The stench was awful even through the protective dome. Would it be bad if the Slayer's sister barfed everywhere? Connor didn't seemed fazed. There was a gleam in his eye that said he was ready for this, that he enjoyed it. That was almost as disturbing as the things in the ring with him.
"What are they?" I shivered, shrinking back in my chair.
"Flying heads." Lilah shrugged then off my look added, "Don't blame me. I didn't name them."
"They're horrible."
"I'm sure the Iroquois thought so, too," Lilah replied and I wondered what they had to do with it.
"They could swallow Connor whole," I said. I didn't know what the thing would do with him if it ate him. It was just a head. Maybe it had guts up in its skull. I didn't want to think about it.
Connor had sword in hand. He grabbed one of the ropes and swung up at a head. The thing bobbed out of the way. Connor fell, hit ground, bounced and got another by its whipping hair. He shoved his sword straight through the eye. The crowd groaned as if disappointed he killed one so fast.
He leaped off the plummeting head, arcing in a back flip onto the tree branch. He was beautiful in motion, like Buffy and Faith. Or maybe I should say Spike and Angel. For once I could see his father in him. Connor moved quickly, maybe even more so than Angel.
He ran up the wall and kicked off, grabbing the hair of another head. He drew back with the sword and the third head's strong jaws caught the blade, wrenching it free. Connor lost his grip and fell. The head he had been about to slay swooped under him and snapped him up like a Scooby snack.
Beside me, Lilah stiffened. It wasn't in her plans to get Connor killed and as much as I didn't want to be forced to have his baby, I didn't want him to die horribly. A loud cracking sound echoed through the enclosure as teeth shattered. The thing howled and Connor popped free, coated in yellow drool.
He hit the ground running and snatched up an axe. Like a handball, he bounced off the stone wall and sliced into the injured head. It went down but Connor lost his axe. The last head flew after him, shrieking but he was out of distance weapons. He leapt and tore down a tree branch. He impaled the last head with an accuracy I'm sure Buffy would have appreciated. The crowd was on its feet, cheering
"Amazing, isn't he?" Lilah asked.
"Yes, but why bring me here? Just to show off?" I was wondering about that. Removing me from my cell only increased my chances of escape.
"Actually, they say that having parents together, bonding, makes for a healthier pregnancy and better baby." She patted my hand, faking concern for me.
"I'm not bonding to him. I'm a little afraid of him," I admitted as if that would dissuade her.
"Understandable. We'll wait for the room to clear before taking you away. Maybe you can have a little alone time with him." She smirked at me again.
I looked at the boy covered in yellow spit. I didn't want to be alone with him. I was more than willing to wait, my eyes on the public door as secretly as I could keep them there. It looked like a straight shot up from that door, a ramp. Maybe it led out but could I get away from Lilah?
Soon the room was empty and Lilah went back to the fridge in the wall, opening it. "I think just the water this time. It's good to keep him hungry. Give it to him."
I took the bottle but when she opened the window in the bars, I backed away. "He reeks. I don't want to get near him."
"You're no rose, yourself," Lilah snapped. "Now give him that water."
"No." I stomped my foot. I knew how to throw a monster-sized fit and was prepared to do so.
"Fine." Lilah snatched the bottle away. "You're tempting me to put you in there with him, just to see what happens."
As she leaned in to hand him the water, I grabbed the barred window and rammed it into her. She grunted, dropping the bottle. I slammed the door on her a few more times. Connor ignored me, more interested in his water. He held the uprighted bottle with both hands, slurping noisily. Lilah slumped and I kicked her in the knee. I had to be sure that she couldn't follow me. I grabbed her hair and jerked her head back so I could shove it into the wall.
I shrieked when her head came off in my hands. It slowly spun around as I stood there holding it by the hair. Her eyes winked at me and her perfectly rouged lips mouthed, 'surprise,' unable to make sounds without lungs behind them. I dropped the horrible thing and raced for the door. I had to dodge through the seats. As I reached the door, which thankfully wasn't locked, I looked back and saw Lilah putting her head back on. Something clanked open, sounding like the gates the heads had come through.
"Go after her, Connor. Bring her back alive."
Oh God, no. Thankfully I had on tennis shoes instead of those chunky heeled things me and Buffy were slaves of fashion to. I sprinted up the corridor and hit the door at the other end hard, nearly bowling over a few of the fancy dressed fight pervs who were loitering around talking. I was out the door and into a parking lot surrounded by woods. It was cool, surprising me. It was summer, after all.
I didn't stop to see if I could get into a car. I knew nothing about hot- wiring. I had nothing to stage a car jacking with and I knew that if these people were here for the fight they'd hardly be likely to help me escape.
I made it to the tree line. I hated running in the woods. I was such a city girl. I was stunned that there wasn't a fence but then, there it was a hundred yards out, Chicken wire topped with hoops of razor wire. How as I going to get up that? I ran along the fence line, hearing something in the woods behind me; Connor with a full load of LSD in him, no doubt.
I saw a maple or an oak or something. I don't know one tree from the other. The important thing was that it had a fat branch that hung over the fence. I managed to climb the tree, which was harder than I thought it would be. I nearly slipped off onto the razor wire as I shimmied out on the branch. The drop to the other side jarred me so hard I thought my head was going to come off just like Lilah's. I didn't fall on my butt, shocking myself. It took me a moment to start running. I could see Connor nearing the fence. Don't look, Dawn, just run.
I couldn't listen to my inner voice. I ran, turning my head to see if he was gaining on me just like all those stupid chicks in the horror flicks Xander liked to rent. Connor cleared the fence in one mighty leap. Dear God, what was he? A boy Slayer? I couldn't outrun something like him.
I concentrated on running, continuing my blind path through the dense woods. I wanted to cry for help, but not for Buffy. I wanted my Mom, as ridiculous as it was. My foot caught on a log and I went sprawling. Twigs and rocks tore into me but I managed to get back up. I grabbed the offending piece of tree and hefted it. He was right behind me now. I felt his approach, like a bunny feels the hawk. I whirled with that branch so hard I took him off his feet. The blow made my shoulders ache but I kept pounding him on the head with the log. Did I feel something break? Had I killed him? It felt like bone had given under the wood. I was going to be sick.
He wasn't moving. I had nothing to tie him up with, not even a belt. He was gurgling. I could see bubbles on his lips, blood maybe? I could smell blood even through the reek of the flying head drool. I couldn't see it in the dark and I couldn't worry about it. He was down and this was my only chance. I brought the branch down in his face then dropped it.
I started running again. My scraped skin and twisted ankle burned like acid. I pressed on. I couldn't believe how dark it was in the woods. I couldn't see the sky. There was no moonlight. I kept tripping over roots and rocks. Old leaf litter proved to be as slick as ice. Branches tore at my hair; once I got so entangled I had to tear away so hard my scalp was bleeding. Let me get out of here and I swear I'll cut my hair short.
I paused, my sides feeling like I'd been knifed. It felt like I had swallowed fire into my lungs, my throat raw and thick. My legs trembled. Over my panting, the forest was alive with sound. They tell you the woods are quiet. They lied. Crickets, owls and other things I didn't know, frogs maybe, chorused loudly. Then I heard something else, snapping branches. Someone was after me. It was Connor or maybe another of Wolfram and Hart's people. Either way, I had to move.
I couldn't get up to speed. My chest felt like it was being crushed, my muscles were spasming so badly. I was so out of shape, too dependent on a rescue from Buffy. If I lived, never again would I be dependent on anyone.
My foot found a hole and I pitched forward. The next thing I knew, I was tumbling down the hill. When the world stopped spinning, I was half buried in a stand of wild roses, their thorns pricking me. They smelled so pretty. For an insane moment all I could do was lie there, drinking in their scent in the summer air, heedless of the thorns spilling pearls of my blood.
I forced myself up and fell again. My ankle and knee ground like they were filled with broken glass. Oh, please don't let me have a broken ankle. A loud inhuman growl sounded in the woods followed by thrashing. Somehow I knew it was Connor. Maybe the LSD had caught up to him and he was fighting things in his head. I should be so lucky.
I tried standing again and managed it, but I couldn't run. There was too much pain and my ankle wobbled. I stumbled along the stand of roses. Fog started creeping around them, ghostly in the darkness. What more can go wrong? I can't even see as it was. The fog thickened. I heard some strange sound rushing through the woods. It reminded me of waves but different.
I didn't have time to think about it. Connor came through the underbrush. The fog made him seem bigger, more than he was. I should have killed him when I had him down. Only I've never killed a person before. Demons yes, but a person, I must not have it in me. I tried to go faster. I nearly stumbled into the roses then caught a tree, using it to push off. A few more steps and I found the source of the weird sound. I had run to a river. It was full and wide and so fast. If I went into it, I'd die for sure.
Gasping for air, sobbing maybe, I tried to find another way. Connor crashed into me and we went down into the roses. Thorns tore at my face as I hit ground. For someone so little, Connor felt enormous, like I had been run down by a pit bull. His growling only helped that image. I hit him in the face, feeling bristly hair and tacky blood under my hand. He head butted me, making me see stars. I tried to push him off and he bit my flailing arm, drawing blood. I screamed and hit him harder. He punched me in the gut, taking away my breath. My bleeding arm fell into the roses, tearing it more.
Connor sat on me, straddling me. I didn't know what he was going to do, but I was too hurt to stop him. He had killed three giant heads like they were nothing, so I didn't know what I thought I could do anyhow. He was staring at me curiously. Was he seeing me? An LSD hallucination or was he trapped in his own madness? Then I heard something odd, felt it deep to the bone. Magic. The rose hedge started shimmering with a red light and it began to grow upwards. Both Connor and I watched it, mesmerized. It turned into a woman, beautiful and serene looking. Her hair fell around her in a long sheet that looked black in the night. She smiled at me and said, "No fear."
And somehow I wasn't afraid any more. Connor was still on top of me but his growling had ceased. He sniffed at the woman and she ran a hand over his face like a mother with a child.
"You poor boy. There is so much sickness in you. It mingles with the poisons you've been fed." Her voice was like a melody as she caressed his face. "You are trapped in magics like a fly in a web."
"Someone did this to him," I stammered, not sure why.
Her dark gaze roved back over to me, her face utterly placid. "You are concerned for him even though he was going to hurt you."
I nodded. "It's not his fault. He's sick and they're making him do this." I had no earthly idea why I was defending Connor other than it was the truth.
Her face finally showed an emotion, a hint of anger. "Once, sickness took those I loved. I was blamed and hunted for it. No one should suffer like this." She captured Connor's head with both hands.
Connor didn't fight her. His eyes fluttered shut as he relaxed. I scrambled out from under him. Red light flowed out of her and entered him. Connor stiffened and jerked. She stepped back, and helped me up. She smelled of roses.
"What did you do to him?"
"This will hurt, but afterwards, he will be free of all the poisons, all the magics woven around him and into him." She stroked my hair, leaving ruby sparkles in it. "I can help your pain."
I nodded and her red light went into me. It felt warm, driving out all the pain, but if it was easy for me, it wasn't for Connor. I could hear him moaning. He started thrashing and screaming. I looked at the woman, shocked. Had I blindly placed trust in someone I shouldn't have? Had she hurt him?
"You helped me but him..."
"Your body only needed a little repair. He needs the badness drained out of him," she replied, her voice still the same soft timbre.
I hoped she knew what she was talking about. Connor rolled to his side, vomiting. He kept retching until nothing came out. He managed to crawl just a bit away from the puddle of puke then started retching again. This time light, a bluish white started coming out of him. I assumed that was the bad magics. He collapsed, groaning, once the icky light stopped flowing. He stopped moving; exhausted, I hoped, not dying. "Will he be all right?"
"Now he will. He's been carrying that magic in him for some time now. He needs to rest." She went over to Connor and touched his cheek. "Sleep."
"Someone's trying to keep us both prisoner. They might find us here. We have to get out of here."
She smiled at me again. "You'll be safe for the night. Tomorrow, follow the river south. It'll take you to where you need to be."
"Um...south?" Okay, so I didn't have an internal compass.
She pointed the way then turned and gestured to a soft looking patch of grass under a tree. "You also need sleep."
"Thank you." I stumbled for the spot then looked at her. "Who are you?"
"Hitcoga."
What an odd name, I thought as I stretched out on the ground. "Why did you help me?"
"These are my woods and innocents are safe here."
"But how did you know I needed help?"
She mouth pursed. "Your blood on the roses called me."
So she was from another dimension? I didn't care. I trusted her. It felt completely right to do so. "Well, thanks...for my life," I said, laying in the grass. I was never one for camping. I didn't even like picnics much. I didn't like being on the ground, with the bugs, but I could care less at this point. It didn't even matter I was trying to go to sleep only a few feet from the person Wolfram and Hart had sent to drag me back. I trusted Hitcoga instinctively. I wondered if she was one of the goddesses Willow and Tara used to invoke. She seemed like one. She was still watching me from the roses when I shut my eyes.