Chapter Two
The brunette sat at the edge of her bed, wondering what she's done in her life to deserve this. She glanced around the small room and was at least thankful for it. However, she shuddered in the cold air, reminding her that the heater was broken and she could not afford to have it fixed. Around her, the blankets came up and around her shoulders in comforting warmth and a small smile played on her lips.
"Thanks Dennis," Cordelia quietly murmured.
She thought it funny that her only friends would be a ghost, an ex-watcher, and a street-wise kid. It was a far cry from her glory days of being the most popular girl in high school. Back in those days, her future was secure in the hands of her extremely rich father. The only thing she had to worry about back then was a bad hair day. Her days were once spent in ignorant bliss until she found out that those things that go bump in the night were actually real and now she was a part of the force fighting against that evil.
"Oh no…not now…" Cordelia's hands immediately flew to her temples as a vision seared across her brain and she was at least grateful she was sitting on the bed.
Wesley and Gunn's tortured bodies as a huge creature with crimson skin and black horns whipped their already torn bare backs, their blood dripping into an enormous black cauldron…
Buffy, Willow, Dawn, and Cordelia bowing before the creature, happily, all their eyes glinting an unnatural gold, behind them an army of women kneeling with the same unnatural light in their eyes…
"Oh God…" Cordelia gasped as tears leaked through her tightly closed eyes. She writhed painfully on top of her bed as wave after wave of mind-damaging visions wracked her brain. Her body started to spasm and she rolled off the bed and landed on the floor with a soft thud, the pain of landing not nearly as excruciating as the ones shooting through her brain.
Angel, beaten and bloody, looking up as the creature hovered over him with a huge sword ready to strike the final blow…
A figure coming out of the darkness to block the creature's fatal blow…
The feminine figure battling against the creature, returning the possessed women to normal…
Angel cradling the lifeless figure, moving dark, blood-soaked locks away from her face. His angelic features contorted with sadness as he moaned out her name in anguish. "Faith…"
* * *
The little girl sat in the darkness, unaware that she was covered in dried blood. She looked very comfortable in the black void, as if it were her home. She could hear the sounds of footsteps behind her and an irritated expression crossed her face.
"What are you still doing here? I thought I told you to go away," she said annoyingly, not even bothering to turn around.
"I can not go away, this is my home," a deep, unfamiliar voice replied.
The little girl immediately stood up and whirled around to face the new stranger. She took a step back as she saw that it was a really tall monster with red skin, gold eyes, and black horns. However, she was not afraid. Next to the creature was the other blonde girl, an eerie smile on her lips and her once hazel-green eyes now glinting a malicious gold. The creature's massive hand was stroking the blonde girl's hair fondly.
"What do you want," the brunette girl asked heatedly, crossing her arms.
The creature gave a deep throaty laugh, baring jagged long teeth. "I want you, of course. You did choose to be in here, did you not?"
"It's safe here," the little girl replied sheepishly, moving her hands to twist them around her shirt.
"Then join me," the creature gestured towards himself. "Isn't that what you want?"
The girl suddenly looked angry and once again crossed her arms. "I want to be left alone!"
* * *
Faith jolted awake at the sound of footsteps. She turned around in her bunk and saw Jacinda enter the cell.
"Sorry if I woke ya up," she replied in her lilting Spanish accent. She tilted her head as she glanced at Faith. "I didn't think you would be in here."
Faith snorted. "Where else can I go? Everyone around here wants a piece of my ass one way or another."
Jacinda shrugged. "That shadowy little corner of the yard is where I usually see you hanging or in the gym."
Faith nodded and looked out the barred window. It was just beginning to get dark. The sky was a dark mass of purple and orange. All the inmates should be either showering or eating dinner. Lockdown wasn't for another hour or so. She sighed and leaned heavily against the concrete wall.
Jacinda watched her for a moment before lifting herself on the top bunk. She studied the younger girl, wondering what happened to her to put so much pain and regret in her dark brown eyes. She had tried asking one time when she was first brought in, but Faith gave her a look that told her never to ask again. The younger girl was quiet, keeping to herself most of the time and either ignored or rebuffed any other inmate that approached her. However, Jacinda knew that the girl was going to be in a heap of trouble soon. Fresh meat usually didn't stay fresh for long and she could hear other gangs talking about putting Faith right were she belonged and teaching her a lesson about respect. The only reason they held back for so long was because of what happened to the woman who tried to take care of Faith on her own. Faith had put her in the infirmary for a two weeks without even breaking a sweat and the guards had been watching her carefully since. Now the guards were backing off and the inmates were plotting.
Jacinda couldn't help but care for her. Not only because she was the youngest, but because of what she hears at night when all the other inmates are asleep. Faith had some terrible nightmares and would usually wake Jacinda up with anguished screams or tortured cries. It also helped that Faith was very attractive.
"So who was the visitor this morning," Jacinda asked casually. "Was it that tall, dark and handsome man? You know if you ask Davis nicely, I'm sure he can get you conjugal visitation rights."
Faith's head shot up at her and Jacinda swore that if looks could kill, she'd be dead on the spot. Faith blinked and the anger was gone as if it was a switch and all that was left was the usually pain and emptiness.
"No, Jace. Just another dumbass lawyer," Faith replied. She studied Jace for a moment, tilting her head. "Shouldn't you be out there with your group? You don't wanna be caught talking friendly with me."
Jacinda chuckled. "Nah, the groups doing the communal bathing thing. Nothing worse than looking at fat naked women or having them looking at you. Besides, I like talking with ya." Faith snorted and Jacinda smirked. "Lo siento, I might as well be talking to the wall."
Faith did a shadow of a grin. "Thanks…for the food, earlier." She pushed herself off of the wall and slowly started making her way out of the cell.
Jacinda jumped down from her bunk and grabbed Faith's hand, causing her to flinch. "Dios mio! What happened?"
Faith yanked her hand away and rolled her shoulders. "Got carried away with a punching bag. Nothing I can't handle."
With that she sauntered down the hall, towards the cafeteria. It was usually the time of day when the rest of the inmates would be done with dinner and it was at that time that Faith came in to try to get as much food as she can before the line closed. She let out a breath of relief as she entered the cafeteria. There were only a few inmates gathered in groups scattered across the long benches. A few looked up from the groups to give her a nasty look before returning to their talks. Faith quickly made her way to the food area, snatching one of the remaining trays, and stood before whoever it was that was on kitchen duty.
The woman eyed her warily as Faith glared at her. "What is it?"
I can't believe this shit. "Food, bread, water, anything," Faith hastily answered, cringing at the small sound of desperation in her voice. "I just need something."
The woman snorted but nonetheless ladled soup onto the tray and tossed a piece of bread onto it. Faith stared heatedly at the woman, but she had no time to argue. She picked a seat farthest away from any of the small patches of women, but closest to the doors should the need arise. She glanced down at her food. The soup was a dull brownish color and the bread was stale and slightly moldy. She started shoveling the soup down, almost choking when she found that it was cold as ice. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that her source of food was limited and quickly finished it. She broke most of the mold away from the bread and shoved it into her mouth, barely chewing before swallowing. In minutes she was finished, but it was hardly enough to quench her hunger. If anything it made her hungrier, her stomach grinding against itself, begging for more. Anger and starvation would break anybody.
She sat there staring at her empty tray seething, her stomach giving her the usual dull ache of starvation, and angry at having to take this shit. She wasn't used to being stepped on. She wasn't used to obeying the rules and other peoples orders. All she had to do was beat down the most frightening leader of one of the gangs and she would have nothing to worry about, but she couldn't. She wouldn't use her powers here. She wouldn't use her powers to get what she wanted. She knew that she deserved being treated like a lower being or worse because she had treated people like that in the past.
How does it feel to be the victim, Faith, she thought angrily.
With a roar of frustration, she flung the metal tray into the wall, embedding it into the concrete. All eyes snapped on her immediately, but Faith didn't care. She was too angry and tired to care. She gave a strong right punch to the wall and bits of concrete flew up at the impact and her scars reopened and mingled with the blood of new cuts. With ease she overturned the table with a loud crash and kicked it with her foot, creating a large dent on the metal surface.
"Wilkins! What the fuck do you think you're doing!"
Faith whirled towards the door to see a bunch of guards standing there, obviously thinking there was a fight or outbreak. The guards hesitated at the wild look in the young girl's eyes, but Davis strode forward cautiously with his hand resting on his nightstick.
"Wilkins, calm down," he ordered, pulling out a set of cuffs. "Now causing a scene is gonna land you a day in the pit." She growled at him. "You wanna add more to that?"
Faith glared at him, seeing him through a red haze. She pushed her rage away and blinked and the anger again subsided, feeling herself calming down and able to focus. She quickly looked around, seeing if she hurt anybody and relief washed over her as she saw no one was damaged. Her defensive stance slackened and she just stood there with her hands limply by her side with a faraway look in her eyes. Davis came towards her and cuffed her roughly, shaking his head.
"You were doing good, too, kid," he said regretfully as he led her away.
As she was led by her cell, Jacinda came out with a worried look on her face. "What's going on?"
"Kid went crazy in the cafeteria," replied the officer behind them as Faith disappeared down the hall. "Took a good chunk outta the wall, too."
Jacinda sighed and shook her head, hoping that Faith would be all right in solitary. She made her way into the cafeteria and saw some guards ordering a couple of inmates to upright the table and sweep the bits of concrete from the floor. Her eyes went wide at the small, bloody crater in the wall, wondering how on earth such a fragile looking girl like Faith could do such a thing. She watched as it took five women to upright the long metal table and wondered again how Faith had the strength to overturn it and put a dent in it. If she could do something like that, then it would be easy to break the chains on the handcuffs or bend the bars in her cell. Jacinda now knew that Faith could escape easily if she wanted to, but she kept herself inside and she briefly wondered what Faith was so scared of outside the prison walls to make her want to stay. The answer came easily to her as she thought about Faith's submissive behavior. She was afraid of herself and what she could do if she were on the outside.
"Hey, bitch, what are ya doin just standing around here for?"
Jacinda slowly turned around to face an older blonde woman. "Nada, Gina, just looking at the damage the runt did."
Gina studied her with cold calculating eyes. "Looks to me like you care something for the runt, that true?"
Jacinda stiffened, but shook her head. "You must be blind then, just wondering how loco my cellmate is gonna be when she gets back from the pit."
Gina smiled at that. "She's in the pit huh? Good, that'll leave her nice and weak."
"What's that suppose to mean," Jacinda shot back before she could stop herself.
She quickly regretted it as soon as she saw Gina raise a knowing eyebrow and smirked maliciously. "What's it to ya, Jace?" She put emphasis on her name, knowing it was what Faith called her. "Don't think I haven't been noticing you giving the runt doe eyes. Is she the one keeping your thighs nice and warm in the middle of the night?" She chuckled at Jacinda's uncomfortable look. "Little Miss High and Mighty will get what's coming to her and you better not stand in the way." With that, Gina grabbed Jacinda's chin and crushed their lips together in a brutal kiss before Gina roughly pushed her way. "See ya around."
As the blonde sauntered off, Jacinda wiped her lips disgustedly with the back of her hand. Now her gang leader knew she and Faith were subtle friends. And friends usually don't get beat alone.
* * *
The blonde smiled in satisfaction as the last lines of her conjuring spell blew in the wind. Her smile faltered a bit as moments passed and nothing happened. With a grunt of anger, she threw the blood-red book away and started stomping off, anxious for a good kill. She suddenly stopped dead in her tracks as an eerie wind suddenly picked up, sending her golden locks flapping behind her. Her smile returned as a pillar of red smoke and light appeared in a flash.
Standing in its place was a huge creature with blood-red skin, cruel yellow eyes, and a smile baring sharp jagged teeth. It had bulky muscles and wore nothing but leather shorts to show off its muscular hoofed legs and a long silky red robe. It had a tuft of white hair between twisted black horns and settled on his head was a crown of ivy leaves. He looked like the devil himself. Its yellow eyes immediately found the blonde girl.
"You are the one who summoned me back to this earth," his deep voice echoed in the surrounding trees.
Darla gave him her sweetest smile and nodded. "Yes, master. I feel that it is time that our god should return to guide us and take back what is rightfully his."
The creature inhaled a deep breath, as if for the first time, and looked around as if contemplating something. "Yes, this day and age there is much to conquer." His golden eyes found hers again. "But you…you are not my kind. I am not your god." An angry annoyed look crossed his demonic features while Darla took a step back in confused fear. He pointed at her with a long claw and disgusted look. "You are a half-breed!"
Before Darla had any chance of escaping, the creature snatched the ancient vampiress around the waist and bit her head off. She crumbled to dust in his hand and he spat out the ash in his mouth.
"I hate my food sandy," the creature muttered distastefully as it disappeared in a flash of red lightening.