Sorry about the wait, but I lost this entire chapter so I had to type it all again. Short I know, but I didn't want to take the attention away from the content with unnecessary details.
vampyre64- If you read chapter 8, it might give you a few ideas about what gifts the student's may have. All of them are different in one way or another, so I leave the details up to your imagination. Also, I've got nothing against B/X, but I had already planned to write the B/X friendship that I love so much.
gidgetgirl- As always, I love your reviews and ideas. Thanks for the nit-pick on 'mum'. I'm just too much of an Aussie. *grins*. Keep 'em coming!
Keifer- Glad I made you so excited, though you probably won't thank me for making you look like an idiot in front of the folks. LOL, sorry!
* * * *
Chapter 11
* * * *
The girl strolled down the empty street, seemingly deep in thought. He smirked to himself and stayed lost in the shadows, hunger eating at his stomach. He hadn't eaten for twenty-four hours and this girl would do fine for his next meal. Well, she was a bit too small, so maybe she would be the entrée.
His stomach gave a tiny jump at the prospect of being filled with the girl's hot, rushing blood. He could hear the flow of it through her throbbing veins, and he could feel the vibrations beneath his feet from her small footfalls.
She was only a few feet away now; all he had to do was to reach out and grab her. Her hands were shoved in the pockets of her jeans and he saw her bit her lip in musings. Easy pickings...didn't the residents in this town know it wasn't safe to go outside after dark? They were so naïve; so caught up in their own life and too busy rationalizing every strange thing they saw.
He was only a foot behind her now, and he reached out with his hand, stretching it until it was only an inch away from her shoulder...
The girl's hand shot up and grabbed his arm, but he was too surprised to shake her off. With one effortless tug, he found himself flying over her shoulder and landing painfully on the path in front of her.
"You may not have a reflection, but you do have a shadow, you idiot," she mocked and all he could do was stare as she thrust the stake into his heart.
* * * *
Buffy strolled slowly down the street, seemingly oblivious to the soft footfalls behind her. The night had called to her from her bedroom and the drive to be surrounded by it forced her to slip out of her window. The shadow behind her quickened its pace and didn't notice her slight hesitation.
She was ripped from her reverie when sharp tingles shot down her spine. Someone, no something, was behind her...something evil. Her throat constricted and her eyes flicked to the road where the street lamp cast a circle of light on the asphalt. Her mind quickly formulated a plan, and she forced herself to calm down. Concentrating on slowing her breathing, she continued to walk down the path, acting as though she were lost in her thoughts and bit her lip.
The shivers became stronger and she noticed with surprise that she could sense and follow its movements. It was only a few steps behind her now, and a little to her left. Buffy was just about to pass another street lamp. Glancing at the road from the corners of her eyes, she saw her own shadow in the flood of light. And just as she had predicted, a second shadow followed her own. She saw its hand reach out towards her, and before she could form any coherent thoughts, grabbed the arm and pulled with all her strength.
The vampire was flung over her shoulder and landed a few feet away, shocked motionless. Heart thudding in her chest, Buffy hastened to its side and pulled the stake from her jacket sleeve.
"You may not have a reflection," she mocked, "But you do have a shadow, you idiot." With one powerful jab, her stake slammed into the vampire's heart and Buffy jumped back in surprise as it exploded into dust.
She could only watch in rapt amazement as the dust was scattered by the slight breeze. She had staked her first vampire. It was shock, and not fright, that kept her rooted to the spot. She stared at the spot where the bloodsucker had laid only moments before. Her first vampire; she had staked her first vampire. She waited for the fright and panic to take a hold of her, but none came. Instead, she felt alive. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, and feelings of excitement and exhilaration sped through her. Never before had she felt anything like the thrill of slaying. The power inside her was unimaginable, and the urge to release it was incredibly strong. She had just slain a vampire, and now she craved for more.
Suddenly, that tiny hole in her heart that had always been there disappeared. She'd always been looking for something else and something more in her life. And now she knew what had been missing- her. She was the Slayer: born the Slayer, lived the Slayer, and until that day when the torch would be passed onto someone else, she would be the Slayer. She would always be Buffy of course, but Buffy and the Slayer were the one and the same. One could not survive without the other.
For the first time in her life, Buffy was whole.
As she slipped the stake back into her jacket with an exhilarated shiver, she embraced the primeval desire to slay. On some level, she knew that she hadn't enough experience to slay many vampires without being killed, but she ignored it. The force inside her was screaming to be liberated and used. She wanted to slay. She wanted to fight and hit and punch. She wanted to kick and stab and stake. She needed the thrill, the stimulation.
An indescribable power surged through her blood, a feeling so intense that it felt as though her body was on fire. It was incredible- a power so strong and unrestrained that her body felt detached from her mind. This is what she had been missing her entire life, this sensation of utter strength. She was unimaginably strong and she knew it. It felt like she could do anything and everything she wanted to. Everything was hers for the taking and the world had been laid at her feet.
She knew she could break that iron gate if she wanted to. She knew she could jump the gate too, if she wanted. She knew she could be back at her house within a minute if she wanted to. She knew she could stake the vampire that was sneaking up behind her.
Spinning on her heel, she instinctively ducked and plunged the stake into its heart, and she did this all in the confines of a second. She had sensed the exact position of the vampire, exactly where he had stood and what he had felt.
The feeling of power engulfed her.
She was the Slayer, and she could do anything.
A sharp pain sliced through her arm and when she gazed down she discovered a deep gash on her arm. The vampire must have cut her with its nails. The wound burned.
Buffy snapped back to reality when she realized that she had almost been overcome with the Slayer. Alarm flitted through her. She wasn't immortal; she was just as capable of being killed than any other human is. Despite the faster healing, she was not imperishable.
The craving to kill was abating, and the untamed inner-monologue was replaced with reason. She wasn't ready to patrol alone and although it had taken her thoughts away from her betraying father, it wouldn't take the problem away.
With sudden clarity, she understood that she had to balance the Slayer and herself. The Slayer was a primeval force to be reckoned with, but she was lonely, bitter and focused on one thing. Buffy wasn't as strong, but she had friends, family and a life to contend with; by combining the two, she would be balanced, and impossible to destroy.
Overcome with this awareness, Buffy knew that she had something only one other Slayer had possessed- ties to the world. Without them, she knew that she would have eventually given up. She knew Kendra had given up- after the death of her husband, what else was left for her in this world? Buffy shivered at the thought of losing her links.
A new determination radiated through her. She knew what Faith had craved and why she had done so now. She had strength; she had power; but most of all, she had a chance to right the wrong. This was her chance to improve the world- and she was going to seize it.