Chapter 2
All I heard was ringing and I had a sneaky suspicion that it was all in my head. I tried to move my arm, but it felt too heavy so I stopped trying. My entire body felt drugged and I was worried that the feeling wouldn't go away.
I tried to calm down as I waited for my body to wake up. Slowly I opened my eyes. The ceiling glared down at me with bright, white light. It was too harsh for my eyes and I squeezed them shut.
Looking around seamed to be a bad idea so I went back to moving. Carefully I moved my arm to shield my eyes. The room was still bright but at least I could sort of look around. After a quick glance I knew I was in a hospital.
My first reaction was fear. Last time I was in one the doctors noticed there was something odd about me. I had barely been able to leave without the doctors taking a closer look to see why exactly I didn't have a heart beat.
Then I remembered exactly why I was here and the fear turned to terror. Quickly I checked my pulse. Sure enough it was still beating, simply at a steadier rate. I tried to remember anything I might have done to cause this. The problem was that I didn't know exactly what the curse was that put me in a non living state to begin with. It had been in Latin so I didn't have a clue how one went about reversing it.
Not sure of what to do I decided that walking might be a good start. It took me awhile just to pull the blankets off of me that someone had used to firmly keep me on the bed. When I was done I carefully moved my legs so that they hung off the side of the bed.
Noticing my reflection in a mirror I grimaced. I looked like crap. My hair, normally a dark auburn, was greasy and looked almost black while my eyes were blood shot making it hard to notice there true yellow color. My face was smooth and angular, and at the moment abnormally pale. It was definitely a picture that belonged in the hospital.
I made a face when I saw that I was in one of those hospital outfits. I desperately wanted something warmer as I put my foot on the ground and realized that it was cold.
Taking a deep breath I stood up, putting my entire wait on my legs. Almost instantly I collapsed, hitting the floor hard. Breathing hard I pushed myself up until I was siting against the bed. Looking down at my legs I saw that one of my knees was bleeding.
"Real blood..." I murmured in a raspy tone. It took me a moment to let it sink in. I was bleeding. "Shit!"
I shouldn't be breathing, little less bleeding. I shouldn't even be alive! I felt my body start to speed up again. My fear was turning to panic. I forced myself to calm down, I couldn't have another panic attack. Not here. I had to get to someone who could help me. A witch or a shaman or something. And I had to do it soon.
With a deep breath I used the bed to pull myself to my feet. It took longer than it should have but my body just felt so weak. I grabbed a table that was next to the bed, hitting something that looked like a remote as I forced myself to stay standing.
I was standing like that when the nurse walked in. She looked immediately surprised and quickly put me back in bed.
"You should be resting now," she said harshly. "What ever you did knocked you out completely. I'm surprised you were even able to stand." and with that she left, leaving me confused. I stared at the door waiting for someone to come in.
Sure enough in came a doctor person. She was wearing a white coat and carrying a clipboard. She smiled up at me and put her clipboard down.
"It's Elizabeth, right?" she asked. I didn't bother asking how she knew my name. I had been carrying my school ID. So I just nodded. "Well then, you managed to get yourself into quite a mess."
"What happened?" I croaked, my throat being too dry to sound right.
"Well, we're not sure," the doctor stated. "For some reason you were going through what first seamed like an extreme panic attack. Then you just stopped. For the last two days your heartbeat has been abnormal. Your body just smoothed out to stable conditions this morning. Other than some aches and pains you appear to be in great health."
"Wait, two days?" I asked. The doctor nodded. That meant I missed school. Not to mention the guys must be wondering where I was... "Damn."
The doctor ignored my comment, continuing with her report instead. " We've faced the problem of not being able to get in contact with your father. We understand he's in Europe but we really need to contact him. Does he have a phone we could contact?"
"Um, yeah, his cell phone, but you'll probably have to leave a voice mail," I said. I dreaded these times when they brought up my father. I still had to give her the number.
"I see," she said, writing one last thing down. "I'll get someone to bring in some food."
"That's okay, I'm not hungry." Even as I said it I realized it wasn't true. It had been such an automatic response over the years that I felt weird having it not be the case. The doctor gave me a knowing look and left without saying anything else. Again I sat waiting for someone to show up. Now that I knew that I was hungry my stomach wouldn't stop rumbling. I barely took the time to thank the nurse who brought in the food before starting in on it.
The fact that hospital food was as bad as the stuff they served at school didn't stop this from being a great meal. I was a little worried about weather or not I'd be able to stomach it.
For as long as I had the curse I couldn't eat. Literally. Anything I swallowed I'd end up throwing up. It was very unpleasant so I had just stopped. This meal, however, wasn't creating any problems at all. I felt just peachy. But once I was done I knew that I had to get out of the hospital. I needed to contact a vampire that could play the part of my dad so that I could get away.
I tried standing again, and this time I had no trouble walking to the door. Another glance in the mirror told me that I was looking better already. Outside I found the closest nurse station. Lucky for me no one was there. I called the same cell number that I had given the doctor, but left a message explaining what the vamp would have to do. When I was done I walked back to my room to wait. An hour or so later I was given back my clothes and allowed to leave. I could tell the doctors weren't happy about it, but my 'father' had been very persistent.
I was out of the hospital as quick as possible, hiding the fact that I was sore until I had gotten in a cab and I was heading for Zeke's house. Getting out of the cab was harder then getting in, but I refused the driver's offer for help. On my own I slowly traveled up the stairs to Zeke's apartment. The door was locked, meaning that they'd stayed somewhere else last night. The sun was just now beginning to set so they couldn't be out yet.
I let myself in anyway, closing the door behind me. After stumbling over to a couch I was pretty much convinced that I never wanted to walk again. I feel asleep almost instantly, and I could have hoped for nothing better.
~
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Groaning at the noise I rolled over and promptly fell on the floor. "Owe," I whispered in pain as I took a second to let it fad away.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
I forced myself to my feet as I considered answering the door. While I was feeling much better I was still sore and voted for the easier method. "Come in," I called to whoever was at the door. The door was pushed in and I was able to see who was there. "Oh, it's you. Go away."
"No thanks. I like the invitation," Alucard said as he walked in. He was the last person I wanted to see at the moment, but I had been the stupid idiot who invited him in. He was dressed in crimson and black and looked like he was on the prowl. I didn't care.
Shrugging I walked away, heading for the kitchen. "Do whatever you want. Zeke's not here at the moment."
In the kitchen I was quite disappointed to realize there was nothing to eat. While there was blood in the fridge, cupboards were empty. We had never needed food so we just didn't buy it. I didn't hear Alucard come into the kitchen but I could almost feel him watching me as I settled for a glass of ice water, the one thing we did have. We also had a phone, making pizza available. Alucard continued to watch me as I called dominoes and ordered two large pizzas.
"Hungry?" he asked. I turned and gave him a look that clearly told for him to shut up.
He was beginning to get annoying. "What are you doing here?" I snapped sounding as irritated as I felt.
Alucard shrugged. "I'm waiting for Zeke. It's more interesting watching then sitting in the living room," he said. He grinned at me for a moment. "I didn't know you were living here." The statement was almost a question. I ignored it.
"Why do you want to see him?" I asked trying to find a point.
He grinned at me. "Sorry hun, can't tell you. Vampire business," he said. Rolling my eyes I pushed past him and into the hall.
"You know, you're really easy to annoy tonight," Alucard yelled after me. He followed me into the living room and sure enough that bugged me. I was acting rather irritable, he was right about that, but I was also feeling hundreds of things that I haven't had to deal with for so long that it was just hell to go through them again. "Something's different about you. I don't know what but its definitely different. You didn't strike me as easy to annoy."
I wasn't sure of what I should say to that. I certainly couldn't tell him the truth. "I'm just feeling crappy." I said weakly. I sounded defensive and I didn't mean to.
Alucard's eyes were peering into me with either extreme curiosity or concern. Maybe even both, but I doubted it. "For some reason I think you're leaving something out," he stated bluntly.
I shrugged. "Maybe. So what?" I asked staring strait at him. There was nothing defensive about it. I was merely being as blunt as he was. Alucard didn't get a chance to answer the question because right then Zeke came home.
He noticed me first. "Liz, where've you been?" he asked, then he saw Alucard. He gave me a questioning glance but I just shook my head.
"Alucard wanted to talk to you," I explained. "I'll be in the bedroom."
The bedroom was the one room that wasn't often used. There was a dresser that held Zeke's clothes and if it weren't for that he'd probably never go in here. All I cared about was the fact that I had a headache and that there was also a bed here. I feel on it with ease and decided that another nap would be good. I never actually fell asleep though. I just laid there in between for awhile until Zeke knocked on the door. I sat up as he walked in.
He stared at me while I yawned. Then with a smirk he said, "You know, you really look like shit."
"You look great, yourself," I muttered as I got to my feet. "What did Alucard want?" I asked.
Zeke shrugged. "Nothing much. He just wanted to invite me somewhere," I could tell that he wasn't telling me everything, but I wasn't in the mood to make anything out of it. "So where have you been?"
It was my turn to shrug. "Sleeping," I said simply. Zeke raised an eyebrow. I didn't want to say too much, after all he was a vampire. A good friend, also, but would that last if he knew I was bitable?
"Nick said you called from the hospital," Zeke stated. I winced. I should have known my 'dad' would have told someone.
"Yeah, well, I've been sleeping at the hospital," I said awkwardly.
"Well are you alright?" he asked.
"Peachy, I just had a really bad day, but the doctor said I'm in great health. It's safe to assume that I'll live," no pun intended, I added in my head.
Zeke nodded. "Good," he said. He didn't see a need to press further. That was good. I had never told him my exact conditions, so he didn't have reasons to think something was wrong. I hope. He could just be being nice.
The doorbell rang, catching Zeke by surprised. I jumped up immediately. The pizza guy was at the door. I quickly paid the man and took the pizza.
Zeke watched with a smile. "Wow, you do eat," he said as I helped myself to the largest piece.
"Of 'orse I do," I said with a full mouth. "Quit looging at me 'ike I'm crazy," I muttered. "I've been living off of hospital food for the last two days. Imagine drinking pig blood that long instead of humans. There's a big difference."
"Don't worry, I believe you," he said, "It's just funny to watch you stuff yourself." I threw a sausage piece at him and he laughed it off. "Speaking of food I have to get some before I head out."
"Out to where?" I asked.
Zeke was very evasive as he answered. "No where important, but you're okay for tonight, right?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. It's not too late maybe I'll go somewhere." I was more interested in where he was going, but I didn't ask again. Instead I grabbed another piece of pizza and listened to Zeke ramble on for the next ten minutes about nothing in particular. Then he left for his mysterious event.
I filled up on pizza before heading out. I had a cab take me to one of the parks downtown.
The night had a chill to it, threatening rain, but still not forcing anyone to wear more than a light jacket. Although still busy roads surrounded the park it was empty. Wanting to do something interesting I headed for the fair. It was open until ten thirty and my watch claimed that it was a quarter till. There was plenty of time to see if any of my friends were there.
Walking into the fair I grinned. It was a weapons show. The booths were set up in one area, leading towards the pavilion. It was a small thing, so most of the rest of the fair was blocked off so that no one could mess anything up.
I took my time looking around. There was everything from modern shotguns to fifthteenth century swords. I stopped to ask a question every now and then, mostly though, I just looked. I never really was interest in guns, but I wasn't bad with a sword. The guys could spend hours talking about different weapons and because I listened I knew a thing or two, and I actually recognized a couple of things. I took the time to examine a few swords as I walked through booths. Most were for decoration, but a few would actually be good in a fight.
One sword in particular interested me. It was about two feet long, but roughly four inches wide. It was silver coated, making me think that it was just for decorations at first, but with a closer look I saw three things that changed my mind. First that it looked, and felt, used. Second, there were three symbols carved into the metal and one into the hilt, two of which I recognized as battle symbols and one that looked like a charm. The last I didn't recognize symbol had me stumped. The third thing that set it off was the fact that all of the symbols were stained with blood. A magicked sword, it makes you wonder what it's for. The entire thing appeared to be completely useless.
"Does that piece interest you?" The British accent took me by surprise. The man behind the stand smiled at me, his eyes sparkling with amusement. They mocked me, knowing something that I didn't.
I realized I was staring and quickly glanced away. "Not really," I lied, putting the sword down. The moment I let it go I wanted to pick it up again. He just continued to smile, perfectly calm. "It's rather awkward, actually, why'd you put it out on show?"
The man put it back in place as he answered, "I like it," was his only explanation. I felt awkward not saying anything, but I didn't really feel like leaving either. He looked up at me, "Did you want something?"
I shook my head. "No, not really," he continued to stare at me. "Are you visiting?"
"For now at least, I'm actually waiting for someone," he stated.
"Waiting for someone here at the fair, or in Puyallup in general?" I asked, just trying to buy time while I figured out why exactly I wanted to pick up the sword again.
He shrugged. "Whenever she shows up," He stated.
I raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anymore. Instead I forced myself to turn and walk away. I didn't understand, the moment I saw that sword it caught my interest. Normally I would have brushed it off, but the man seamed to know that I liked it. He seamed to almost expect it. Suddenly I no longer felt like looking at the booths. I walked off to a darker part of the fair. They had ropes up showing you where not to go. The majority of the fair was still closed, making the ride and game area off limits.
I sat at a bench and stared at the crowds of people that were beginning to dwindle off. Was I going to end up like them? I was alive again, but no one seamed to notice. I knew that some magic was keeping me safe before, not letting people know that I wasn't really living, but if I was alive again, would I go back to how I was? Or would I be just like them. I had too many questions and I needed answers. There were some witches and druids around that I could ask, but I would have to go somewhere where they would know more.
I caught a security guard glancing my way and figured that I should probably be moving on. I stood up and decided on leaving. Shoving my hands in my pockets I sighed, almost too loud to here the faint scream coming from further into the fair.
Looking around I noticed no one else heard it. It was probably just some vampire terrorizing a human. It was nothing too bad, nothing that I hadn't watched before. But I felt so horrible doing nothing. Was it because I was alive again? Probably.
"Damn it, stupid vampires," I muttered. Crawling under the rope that blocked off the rest of the fair I started off on a run from where I thought the scream came from. My direction was confirmed when I heard another scream, this time louder and nearer. My easy run turned into a sprint as I turned around the last corner.
There were three vampires. That was two too many. I'm pretty sure that with luck I could have remembered enough skills to kill one, but three was weigh out of my league. They saw me though, so I had to do something. Besides, what they were doing to the two girls with them was wrong even by my vampire friend's standards.
The girls were being tortured. They were hanging from ropes that were tied to a pole, and it looked like they had been there awhile. Their wrists were rubbed raw and they were slowly swaying back and forth. Their necks were about the only part of them untouched. Cuts and bite marks were scattered over their bodies, along with several bruises. I was happy to see that these vampires weren't too bad, they hadn't stripped the girls, so even though I really didn't like what they were doing I had seen worse.
"Look, another one," one of the vamps said as he started towards me. I didn't recognize him, but one of the others looked familiar. They were some of the visitors. One of his friends had been the vamp who had motioned us into the party. I just hoped one of the other two had been in the party and had seen Alucard's attempt to bite me. It just might make them think twice.
The vampires started towards me. I braced myself for their attack, but at the same time appeared completely relaxed and at ease as I let a grin creep over my face. "Hello boys, I don't know what you do where you're from, but vamps around here don't do that," I motioned to the girls. "Nor do they try to kill too many humans, as I'm sure you haven't had a second thought about. So if you don't mind, you can leave, and let these girls go while they still have some chance at staying alive."
That took them by surprise and they stopped walking for a moment. "You're not a vampire." One of them snapped.
"Correct smart one," I said with heavy sarcasm. "I just spend my time running into you idiots," That started them forward again. I raised my hands in defense. "Hey, if you want to bite me, go ahead, see where it gets you." I pulled my hair back and offered my neck. This is where the gamble came in. If none of them had been there then they wouldn't know not to bite.
The vamp that talked first started forward eagerly, but another stopped him. "She's that Liz chick." That seamed to make him hesitate, I just continued to stand there, hoping that this would work.
"Who?" asked the third vamp, who obviously hadn't heard of me.
The second started to explain. "Alucard said you can't bite her. She's supposedly unable to be hurt," he said, then stopped to think. "But she can't stop us, either."
"Are you sure we can't bite her?" asked the third. He was peering at me through small, wrinkled covered eyes.
The second shook his head. "Nah, we can't. Alucard's trying to make peace with the vamp in charge of her and if we hurt her he might get ticked."
I figured that they weren't going to try to bite me, that was good. I think they could kill me if they tried. And it was good that Alucard was trying to be nice to Zeke. If things went wrong it might save me. It wasn't so good, however, that they knew I couldn't stop them. I had this really bad feeling that if they ignored me and went back to torturing the girls I would have to step in. Sure enough they ignored me and went back to their business, I tried one more time to talk to them.
"Look, if you're trying to make peace with Zeke, then you shouldn't be invading his territory and torturing the people in it," I snapped, they continued to ignore me. I watched as one sunk his teeth into a girl's neck and I knew they were out to kill. "Look, if you start doing this you're going to bring out a few slayer wannabes and we're all going to be in trouble."
One of the vamps turned back to me. "And what are you, Zeke's pet slayer wannabe?"
The irony of that almost made me crack up laughing right there and then. They wouldn't understand, but it was actually kind of funny. I couldn't surpress a grin, and the grin was bugging the vamp. "I'm no body's pet, and I'm not a wannabe, but I also can't let you do this." The vampire biting the girl clinched his teeth harder and she screamed. I knew there wasn't any time for talk, but I had to do something. I didn't even have a stake.
They were ignoring me again. I looked around for something. I remembered a pile of wood on the way here and ran back to it. The vampires paid no attention, and continued to ignore me when I came back with one of the sharper pieces of wood. The fact they weren't paying attention actually paid off. I walked up to the three of them, and while they were playing with their girls I took the stake and shoved it into one of their hearts and he burst into dust. It was actually easy.
They stopped ignoring me then, so I turned to run. They followed after me, and they were quicker. I just had to make it to the show. I had checked over a couple of the guns and I knew of a couple that were actually loaded and ready to go. One of them grabbed me and pulled me back. I couldn't twist out of his grasp, and I didn't have the strength to do anything else.
"What's the matter? You don't have slayer strength after all, do you?" The vampire mocked.
I shook my head. "No, not for years," I muttered. I did, however, have several years of different kinds of martial arts training, and I didn't mind taking the cheep shots. He grabbed me and pulled me towards him, preparing to bite, I nailed him in the balls, causing him to let go. Taking advantage of the extra bit of time I took off at another sprint before the vamp's partner could grab me.
I was tired when I reached the booths. People were starting to pack up and leave. I knew that the vampires were trying to find away to pull me to the side without drawing too much attention. I didn't care if I caught attention. I could always get out of here. I found the booth I needed just as a vampire grabbed me. Unfortunately it was in one of the corners back where there wasn't as clear of a view of us. Unfortunately the person in charge of the booth wasn't here either.
"If you don't make a fuss we won't kill you," the vampire growled into my ear.
I smirked. "As if I would believe you," I snapped.
I looked for a weapon close enough but couldn't find one in reach. There were several shotguns in the booth, and some older weapons under glass. I had talked to the owner of the collection. He liked to keep some of the oldest weapons, and keep them in working condition. I knew for a fact that they were all loaded and worked. They wouldn't kill the vamp, but they would slow it down.
"Whether or not you believe me doesn't matter. You can't stop us, you've run out of luck," he stated.
"Maybe, maybe not," I replied. He was holding both my arms, I couldn't run and my back was to him so I couldn't throw a punch. I could try elbowing him, but it wouldn't work very well. I settled on stomping on his foot. He yelped when I hit it, obviously with more force then I thought I could use. I pulled out of his grip long enough to jump over the counter and grab a gun.
He had hold of my leg before I could get completely over so I half fell once I had hold of the gun. I managed to turn though, and fired an easy shot at his chest. The great thing about a shotgun is that you didn't need great aim. It hardly mattered anyway, he was only a few feet away, but it helped. The guy I had kneed came up and I shot him too. I dropped the shotgun, glad that I was on the ground. The kick would have knocked me off my feet if I weren't. They were both recovering as I climbed back over, leaving the shotgun behind.
I recovered from shooting off the gun quicker than I thought I would, another lucky break for me. Now I was sprinting for the exit, where it appeared that my luck ran out. There were four more vampires waiting for me there. For a moment I though it was coincidence, but the way they started for me told me it wasn't. How they knew I was causing trouble I didn't know, but it didn't matter. I had to find a way to stay alive.
"Oh how I wish the guys were here," I muttered.
"Well, let's hope you don't need them," I recognized the British voice. The man from the sword booth was standing behind me. I didn't realize that I had made it back to his booth. He was still smiling at me. "Guns won't work, we both know that. I hear decapitation does it though. Swords are good at that." He still had that knowing look, but it didn't bug me that much anymore. I was more worried about ending up as dinner.
"Whoever you are, if I live through this you have some explaining," I said as I grabbed the sword that I had first been looking at. "Stupid sword," I muttered, not sure as to why I grabbed it. It was awkward and heavy, but it had sharp edges so it might work.
Six vampires. I remembered when this was easy. I'd gone up against worse, granted I had stakes and a crossbow, but swords worked. I didn't want to be in a corner, it gave me no where to run to. I was fast for a human, not so much for a vampire, but if I could get a head start then I just had to break into a near by house and they couldn't come in.
Hopefully, with whatever happened to me the two girls would get away. It would be very annoying if I got eaten and they went back and killed the girls. Then this really wouldn't be worth it.
I walked out into the clearing between booths. All the humans had scattered either when the gun shots went off or when the vampires showed up. I didn't have that luck. If there was any way for me to call for help I would have done it.
Taking a deep breath I focused. I closed my eyes for a moment, placing in my mind where each vampire was standing, how they were moving, and how they were going to attack. Feeling them came naturally to me. I forced myself to calm down as I waited for them to make the first move.
They attacked in threes, the first group coming at me in a run. I dodged several kicks and punches until one nailed me in the gut. With a gasp I fell backwards. One of them grabbed me, holding me still as the other two hit me a few more times. I took each hit, not sure as how to stop them. I twisted around a bit, trying to get the vamp holding me to let go. He didn't, but he did loosen his grasp. I elbowed him hard in the gut, taking him by surprise. I was able to pull away from him, dodging the other two's attacks. I crouched to the ground and quickly kicked the legs out from one of the two vampires that were still attacking. He fell to the ground as I jumped back up. Twisting in the air I pulled my leg around and kicked the third vamp in the head, knocking him back as well.
The second group was already attacking. They leapt over the fallen vampires without a second thought. One through a punch at me, I raised an arm to block it. I thrust my knee into his stomach before being pulled back by another. He grabbed me by the neck, trying to choke me. I dropped the sword that I had somehow managed to hold onto. The vamp wrapped an arm around me as his hand tightened against my throat. I wasn't used to having to breathe so while this normally wouldn't have been a problem being alive had down falls.
The vampire pulled me off the ground, but I pulled back. Once I got my feet back on the ground I used every ounce of strength I had to flip him over my shoulders. He landed with a thud and I was left gasping. Other vampires were getting to their feet so I had to stay on mine. Quickly I picked my sword back up. What surprised me was how quickly I kept recovering.
The vampire I hadn't fought yet was coming at me. He was using no strategy at all, and I took advantage of that. I barely had to aim my sword as I swung it at him. His head feel to the ground before his body burst into dust. One of the vampires that was already on his feet saw this. He began actually looking scared and he took off at a run.
"Two down," I murmured as I watched the other four reform.
They attacked again, determined to win. I attacked as well, dodging every blow they threw at me as I parried with a punch or a thrust of my sword. It didn't take long to dust another vampire, bringing me back to three on one.
I was tired and out of breath, but I had to keep fighting. I was wondering what happened to the British guy who had giving me the sword to start with. He obviously knew something about vampires. It would help if he did something useful. Unfortunately he was no where to be seen so I had to go on alone.
Again they attacked together, this time actually looking like they knew what they were doing. I dropped the sword again, but this time so that I could use both arms to block off attacks. I gave up on the sword theory. I had to find a stake to use against them. It would be quicker and more efficient. There was no way I could get back to the pile of wood scraps. I had to find a stake somewhere else.
That I would work on later, at the moment I was fighting off vampires, and they were wining. There was no time to look at where I was going but they were forcing me steadily backwards. With every punch I blocked and attack I made I knew I should have been getting exhausted, but I wasn't. If anything I was getting stronger, faster, and more energetic. There was nothing logical happening in this fight.
One of the vampires finally knocked me backwards and off my feet, causing me to fall. Instead of hitting the ground my back slammed into something sharp behind me. I cursed as I stumbled to the ground. Looking behind me I saw the edge of a fountain often used for decoration. The fountain was still going and the sound of splashing water was aggravating as I tried to calm the pain in my back.
I climbed to my feet, slowly and painfully. A vampire hit me in the face, knocking me back, but I couldn't move any further, being right next to the fountain's wall. I punched back, nailing him in the face. With a series of kicks I managed to get some room.
One of the vampires grabbed for me. I caught his arm and twisted it around until I heard something snap. He tried to pull back as he cried out in pain, but I held on as I pulled him down so I could easily kick him in the head so that he'd stay out of the fight.
The two other vamps came at me. I blocked a kick, quickly following it up with one of my own. I punched, he blocked. Turning I kicked him in the side, knocking the vamp back. The other rushed at me, I side stepped and let him run by as I delivered another blow to his friend. The vampire ran back at me, full speed. Instead of jumping out of the way I jumped onto the fountain's edge then immediately kicked off, twirling in the air before I kicked him in the face.
All three vampires were on the ground.
"Catch!" Someone yelled.
I turned to see who it was just in time to catch the wooden stake flying at me. In three quick movements I dusted the vampires. leaning back for a moment I finally got time to catch my breath. Just as I went to sit down, though, someone grabbed me and was pulling me up.
I looked to see the British man. "Come on, we have to get out of here," He ordered.
"Wait, what's going on?" I asked even as I allowed him to push me towards one of the side exits. He didn't explain, but instead lead me to a van that was waiting outside. The doors opened right as we got there and I was hurried inside of it before I had a chance to say anything else.
There were three men already inside, them plus an open trunk of weapons in the back seat. I didn't have time to ask who they were before the van started up and the driver sped out of there. I wasn't even in a seat yet and had to grab something to stop from falling over. The two men in the back helped me to a seat while I went over everything that just happened in my mind.
"Elisabeth Johnson I presume," The driver said in a thick British accent. I didn't need to hear the rest of them to guess that they were all British.
I nodded before saying, "Yeah, kind of anyway."
"What do you mean 'kind of'?"
I shook my head this time. "Nothing, nothing. Look, I appreciate the get away van, I really do, but I've got to go. I don't know who you are and I really need to be somewhere," I said. I had a horrible feeling about what was going on.
The man from the booth was looking strait at me and I was having a hard time not looking back. He had the presence of authority about him, making himself seam bigger than he was. "Look, I don't care who you are. I know that you know what they are, and I know that you know what they can do. I can't let you go out there and get killed. One of them got away? Remember? There's not a vampire in this town who won't be after you."
"They weren't from this town!" I yelled, getting fed up with him. "They're not from here, there are people here who won't be after me. I'll be just fine, let me go!"
That took him by surprise, but he soon recovered. "You're right, they're not from here. They're not even important. They were nobodies, foot soldiers, vampires sent out for the sole purpose of getting slaughtered. There are others though, older and more experienced. Others trained so that they can one day kill one person. You." He stared at me with such intensity that for a moment I actually thought he might be right.
Then I shook the thought out of my head. "No, you're wrong. Why would they kill me? Hmm? Why?" I asked. I needed an answer. Nothing was making sense and I needed that to change. These men knew something and they were going to tell me.
They were all silent for a moment, then the younger of the four said quite matter-of-factly, "Because you're the slayer."
A sword fight, dusted vampires and pizza. The chapter couldn't have been that bad, even if it was a tad longer than I normally make them. Eleven pages without the necessary spacing so it's not all one big blob. Anyway, thanks for all the review! While I'm not supposed to individually thank people, because I know certain people I know in real life really hate that sort of thing, I'm going to anyway.
Gidgetgirl: well, you kind of got a look at her in the beginning of the chapter, plus her name at the end, I hope that helps. I'm glad you like the idea, or at least what you know of it so far. I'm trying to throw in a plot twist later on but that won't be until she hooks up with the scoobies.
Son of Evil: ^.^ glad you liked it. History is next chapter. I figured it's about time and all. If you have any specific questions review them and I'll try to throw them into the story.
Beyondthesilence: Short review, short answer. Glad you like it. Hope you keep reading and I look forward to many reviews. ^.^
FanofFaith: Yes, the scobbies will show up, just not for. um. at least three chapters. I have to go through two years of important stuff (I skip around A LOT) to set up for when she joins the Buffy in season seven. But rest asured, you will see them. If you have any other questions, I'll make sure to get back to you.
Kurt Uhlig: Bremerton? Almost directly north of Puyallup. Actually, I moved a little north of here over the summer so I don't live in Puyallup anymore, though I'm there quite often. Don't know how often you've been to the fair but the fight actually takes place in a certain spot, but I'm not too wonderful at explaining it.
Thanks again!
~Rave
All I heard was ringing and I had a sneaky suspicion that it was all in my head. I tried to move my arm, but it felt too heavy so I stopped trying. My entire body felt drugged and I was worried that the feeling wouldn't go away.
I tried to calm down as I waited for my body to wake up. Slowly I opened my eyes. The ceiling glared down at me with bright, white light. It was too harsh for my eyes and I squeezed them shut.
Looking around seamed to be a bad idea so I went back to moving. Carefully I moved my arm to shield my eyes. The room was still bright but at least I could sort of look around. After a quick glance I knew I was in a hospital.
My first reaction was fear. Last time I was in one the doctors noticed there was something odd about me. I had barely been able to leave without the doctors taking a closer look to see why exactly I didn't have a heart beat.
Then I remembered exactly why I was here and the fear turned to terror. Quickly I checked my pulse. Sure enough it was still beating, simply at a steadier rate. I tried to remember anything I might have done to cause this. The problem was that I didn't know exactly what the curse was that put me in a non living state to begin with. It had been in Latin so I didn't have a clue how one went about reversing it.
Not sure of what to do I decided that walking might be a good start. It took me awhile just to pull the blankets off of me that someone had used to firmly keep me on the bed. When I was done I carefully moved my legs so that they hung off the side of the bed.
Noticing my reflection in a mirror I grimaced. I looked like crap. My hair, normally a dark auburn, was greasy and looked almost black while my eyes were blood shot making it hard to notice there true yellow color. My face was smooth and angular, and at the moment abnormally pale. It was definitely a picture that belonged in the hospital.
I made a face when I saw that I was in one of those hospital outfits. I desperately wanted something warmer as I put my foot on the ground and realized that it was cold.
Taking a deep breath I stood up, putting my entire wait on my legs. Almost instantly I collapsed, hitting the floor hard. Breathing hard I pushed myself up until I was siting against the bed. Looking down at my legs I saw that one of my knees was bleeding.
"Real blood..." I murmured in a raspy tone. It took me a moment to let it sink in. I was bleeding. "Shit!"
I shouldn't be breathing, little less bleeding. I shouldn't even be alive! I felt my body start to speed up again. My fear was turning to panic. I forced myself to calm down, I couldn't have another panic attack. Not here. I had to get to someone who could help me. A witch or a shaman or something. And I had to do it soon.
With a deep breath I used the bed to pull myself to my feet. It took longer than it should have but my body just felt so weak. I grabbed a table that was next to the bed, hitting something that looked like a remote as I forced myself to stay standing.
I was standing like that when the nurse walked in. She looked immediately surprised and quickly put me back in bed.
"You should be resting now," she said harshly. "What ever you did knocked you out completely. I'm surprised you were even able to stand." and with that she left, leaving me confused. I stared at the door waiting for someone to come in.
Sure enough in came a doctor person. She was wearing a white coat and carrying a clipboard. She smiled up at me and put her clipboard down.
"It's Elizabeth, right?" she asked. I didn't bother asking how she knew my name. I had been carrying my school ID. So I just nodded. "Well then, you managed to get yourself into quite a mess."
"What happened?" I croaked, my throat being too dry to sound right.
"Well, we're not sure," the doctor stated. "For some reason you were going through what first seamed like an extreme panic attack. Then you just stopped. For the last two days your heartbeat has been abnormal. Your body just smoothed out to stable conditions this morning. Other than some aches and pains you appear to be in great health."
"Wait, two days?" I asked. The doctor nodded. That meant I missed school. Not to mention the guys must be wondering where I was... "Damn."
The doctor ignored my comment, continuing with her report instead. " We've faced the problem of not being able to get in contact with your father. We understand he's in Europe but we really need to contact him. Does he have a phone we could contact?"
"Um, yeah, his cell phone, but you'll probably have to leave a voice mail," I said. I dreaded these times when they brought up my father. I still had to give her the number.
"I see," she said, writing one last thing down. "I'll get someone to bring in some food."
"That's okay, I'm not hungry." Even as I said it I realized it wasn't true. It had been such an automatic response over the years that I felt weird having it not be the case. The doctor gave me a knowing look and left without saying anything else. Again I sat waiting for someone to show up. Now that I knew that I was hungry my stomach wouldn't stop rumbling. I barely took the time to thank the nurse who brought in the food before starting in on it.
The fact that hospital food was as bad as the stuff they served at school didn't stop this from being a great meal. I was a little worried about weather or not I'd be able to stomach it.
For as long as I had the curse I couldn't eat. Literally. Anything I swallowed I'd end up throwing up. It was very unpleasant so I had just stopped. This meal, however, wasn't creating any problems at all. I felt just peachy. But once I was done I knew that I had to get out of the hospital. I needed to contact a vampire that could play the part of my dad so that I could get away.
I tried standing again, and this time I had no trouble walking to the door. Another glance in the mirror told me that I was looking better already. Outside I found the closest nurse station. Lucky for me no one was there. I called the same cell number that I had given the doctor, but left a message explaining what the vamp would have to do. When I was done I walked back to my room to wait. An hour or so later I was given back my clothes and allowed to leave. I could tell the doctors weren't happy about it, but my 'father' had been very persistent.
I was out of the hospital as quick as possible, hiding the fact that I was sore until I had gotten in a cab and I was heading for Zeke's house. Getting out of the cab was harder then getting in, but I refused the driver's offer for help. On my own I slowly traveled up the stairs to Zeke's apartment. The door was locked, meaning that they'd stayed somewhere else last night. The sun was just now beginning to set so they couldn't be out yet.
I let myself in anyway, closing the door behind me. After stumbling over to a couch I was pretty much convinced that I never wanted to walk again. I feel asleep almost instantly, and I could have hoped for nothing better.
~
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Groaning at the noise I rolled over and promptly fell on the floor. "Owe," I whispered in pain as I took a second to let it fad away.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
I forced myself to my feet as I considered answering the door. While I was feeling much better I was still sore and voted for the easier method. "Come in," I called to whoever was at the door. The door was pushed in and I was able to see who was there. "Oh, it's you. Go away."
"No thanks. I like the invitation," Alucard said as he walked in. He was the last person I wanted to see at the moment, but I had been the stupid idiot who invited him in. He was dressed in crimson and black and looked like he was on the prowl. I didn't care.
Shrugging I walked away, heading for the kitchen. "Do whatever you want. Zeke's not here at the moment."
In the kitchen I was quite disappointed to realize there was nothing to eat. While there was blood in the fridge, cupboards were empty. We had never needed food so we just didn't buy it. I didn't hear Alucard come into the kitchen but I could almost feel him watching me as I settled for a glass of ice water, the one thing we did have. We also had a phone, making pizza available. Alucard continued to watch me as I called dominoes and ordered two large pizzas.
"Hungry?" he asked. I turned and gave him a look that clearly told for him to shut up.
He was beginning to get annoying. "What are you doing here?" I snapped sounding as irritated as I felt.
Alucard shrugged. "I'm waiting for Zeke. It's more interesting watching then sitting in the living room," he said. He grinned at me for a moment. "I didn't know you were living here." The statement was almost a question. I ignored it.
"Why do you want to see him?" I asked trying to find a point.
He grinned at me. "Sorry hun, can't tell you. Vampire business," he said. Rolling my eyes I pushed past him and into the hall.
"You know, you're really easy to annoy tonight," Alucard yelled after me. He followed me into the living room and sure enough that bugged me. I was acting rather irritable, he was right about that, but I was also feeling hundreds of things that I haven't had to deal with for so long that it was just hell to go through them again. "Something's different about you. I don't know what but its definitely different. You didn't strike me as easy to annoy."
I wasn't sure of what I should say to that. I certainly couldn't tell him the truth. "I'm just feeling crappy." I said weakly. I sounded defensive and I didn't mean to.
Alucard's eyes were peering into me with either extreme curiosity or concern. Maybe even both, but I doubted it. "For some reason I think you're leaving something out," he stated bluntly.
I shrugged. "Maybe. So what?" I asked staring strait at him. There was nothing defensive about it. I was merely being as blunt as he was. Alucard didn't get a chance to answer the question because right then Zeke came home.
He noticed me first. "Liz, where've you been?" he asked, then he saw Alucard. He gave me a questioning glance but I just shook my head.
"Alucard wanted to talk to you," I explained. "I'll be in the bedroom."
The bedroom was the one room that wasn't often used. There was a dresser that held Zeke's clothes and if it weren't for that he'd probably never go in here. All I cared about was the fact that I had a headache and that there was also a bed here. I feel on it with ease and decided that another nap would be good. I never actually fell asleep though. I just laid there in between for awhile until Zeke knocked on the door. I sat up as he walked in.
He stared at me while I yawned. Then with a smirk he said, "You know, you really look like shit."
"You look great, yourself," I muttered as I got to my feet. "What did Alucard want?" I asked.
Zeke shrugged. "Nothing much. He just wanted to invite me somewhere," I could tell that he wasn't telling me everything, but I wasn't in the mood to make anything out of it. "So where have you been?"
It was my turn to shrug. "Sleeping," I said simply. Zeke raised an eyebrow. I didn't want to say too much, after all he was a vampire. A good friend, also, but would that last if he knew I was bitable?
"Nick said you called from the hospital," Zeke stated. I winced. I should have known my 'dad' would have told someone.
"Yeah, well, I've been sleeping at the hospital," I said awkwardly.
"Well are you alright?" he asked.
"Peachy, I just had a really bad day, but the doctor said I'm in great health. It's safe to assume that I'll live," no pun intended, I added in my head.
Zeke nodded. "Good," he said. He didn't see a need to press further. That was good. I had never told him my exact conditions, so he didn't have reasons to think something was wrong. I hope. He could just be being nice.
The doorbell rang, catching Zeke by surprised. I jumped up immediately. The pizza guy was at the door. I quickly paid the man and took the pizza.
Zeke watched with a smile. "Wow, you do eat," he said as I helped myself to the largest piece.
"Of 'orse I do," I said with a full mouth. "Quit looging at me 'ike I'm crazy," I muttered. "I've been living off of hospital food for the last two days. Imagine drinking pig blood that long instead of humans. There's a big difference."
"Don't worry, I believe you," he said, "It's just funny to watch you stuff yourself." I threw a sausage piece at him and he laughed it off. "Speaking of food I have to get some before I head out."
"Out to where?" I asked.
Zeke was very evasive as he answered. "No where important, but you're okay for tonight, right?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. It's not too late maybe I'll go somewhere." I was more interested in where he was going, but I didn't ask again. Instead I grabbed another piece of pizza and listened to Zeke ramble on for the next ten minutes about nothing in particular. Then he left for his mysterious event.
I filled up on pizza before heading out. I had a cab take me to one of the parks downtown.
The night had a chill to it, threatening rain, but still not forcing anyone to wear more than a light jacket. Although still busy roads surrounded the park it was empty. Wanting to do something interesting I headed for the fair. It was open until ten thirty and my watch claimed that it was a quarter till. There was plenty of time to see if any of my friends were there.
Walking into the fair I grinned. It was a weapons show. The booths were set up in one area, leading towards the pavilion. It was a small thing, so most of the rest of the fair was blocked off so that no one could mess anything up.
I took my time looking around. There was everything from modern shotguns to fifthteenth century swords. I stopped to ask a question every now and then, mostly though, I just looked. I never really was interest in guns, but I wasn't bad with a sword. The guys could spend hours talking about different weapons and because I listened I knew a thing or two, and I actually recognized a couple of things. I took the time to examine a few swords as I walked through booths. Most were for decoration, but a few would actually be good in a fight.
One sword in particular interested me. It was about two feet long, but roughly four inches wide. It was silver coated, making me think that it was just for decorations at first, but with a closer look I saw three things that changed my mind. First that it looked, and felt, used. Second, there were three symbols carved into the metal and one into the hilt, two of which I recognized as battle symbols and one that looked like a charm. The last I didn't recognize symbol had me stumped. The third thing that set it off was the fact that all of the symbols were stained with blood. A magicked sword, it makes you wonder what it's for. The entire thing appeared to be completely useless.
"Does that piece interest you?" The British accent took me by surprise. The man behind the stand smiled at me, his eyes sparkling with amusement. They mocked me, knowing something that I didn't.
I realized I was staring and quickly glanced away. "Not really," I lied, putting the sword down. The moment I let it go I wanted to pick it up again. He just continued to smile, perfectly calm. "It's rather awkward, actually, why'd you put it out on show?"
The man put it back in place as he answered, "I like it," was his only explanation. I felt awkward not saying anything, but I didn't really feel like leaving either. He looked up at me, "Did you want something?"
I shook my head. "No, not really," he continued to stare at me. "Are you visiting?"
"For now at least, I'm actually waiting for someone," he stated.
"Waiting for someone here at the fair, or in Puyallup in general?" I asked, just trying to buy time while I figured out why exactly I wanted to pick up the sword again.
He shrugged. "Whenever she shows up," He stated.
I raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anymore. Instead I forced myself to turn and walk away. I didn't understand, the moment I saw that sword it caught my interest. Normally I would have brushed it off, but the man seamed to know that I liked it. He seamed to almost expect it. Suddenly I no longer felt like looking at the booths. I walked off to a darker part of the fair. They had ropes up showing you where not to go. The majority of the fair was still closed, making the ride and game area off limits.
I sat at a bench and stared at the crowds of people that were beginning to dwindle off. Was I going to end up like them? I was alive again, but no one seamed to notice. I knew that some magic was keeping me safe before, not letting people know that I wasn't really living, but if I was alive again, would I go back to how I was? Or would I be just like them. I had too many questions and I needed answers. There were some witches and druids around that I could ask, but I would have to go somewhere where they would know more.
I caught a security guard glancing my way and figured that I should probably be moving on. I stood up and decided on leaving. Shoving my hands in my pockets I sighed, almost too loud to here the faint scream coming from further into the fair.
Looking around I noticed no one else heard it. It was probably just some vampire terrorizing a human. It was nothing too bad, nothing that I hadn't watched before. But I felt so horrible doing nothing. Was it because I was alive again? Probably.
"Damn it, stupid vampires," I muttered. Crawling under the rope that blocked off the rest of the fair I started off on a run from where I thought the scream came from. My direction was confirmed when I heard another scream, this time louder and nearer. My easy run turned into a sprint as I turned around the last corner.
There were three vampires. That was two too many. I'm pretty sure that with luck I could have remembered enough skills to kill one, but three was weigh out of my league. They saw me though, so I had to do something. Besides, what they were doing to the two girls with them was wrong even by my vampire friend's standards.
The girls were being tortured. They were hanging from ropes that were tied to a pole, and it looked like they had been there awhile. Their wrists were rubbed raw and they were slowly swaying back and forth. Their necks were about the only part of them untouched. Cuts and bite marks were scattered over their bodies, along with several bruises. I was happy to see that these vampires weren't too bad, they hadn't stripped the girls, so even though I really didn't like what they were doing I had seen worse.
"Look, another one," one of the vamps said as he started towards me. I didn't recognize him, but one of the others looked familiar. They were some of the visitors. One of his friends had been the vamp who had motioned us into the party. I just hoped one of the other two had been in the party and had seen Alucard's attempt to bite me. It just might make them think twice.
The vampires started towards me. I braced myself for their attack, but at the same time appeared completely relaxed and at ease as I let a grin creep over my face. "Hello boys, I don't know what you do where you're from, but vamps around here don't do that," I motioned to the girls. "Nor do they try to kill too many humans, as I'm sure you haven't had a second thought about. So if you don't mind, you can leave, and let these girls go while they still have some chance at staying alive."
That took them by surprise and they stopped walking for a moment. "You're not a vampire." One of them snapped.
"Correct smart one," I said with heavy sarcasm. "I just spend my time running into you idiots," That started them forward again. I raised my hands in defense. "Hey, if you want to bite me, go ahead, see where it gets you." I pulled my hair back and offered my neck. This is where the gamble came in. If none of them had been there then they wouldn't know not to bite.
The vamp that talked first started forward eagerly, but another stopped him. "She's that Liz chick." That seamed to make him hesitate, I just continued to stand there, hoping that this would work.
"Who?" asked the third vamp, who obviously hadn't heard of me.
The second started to explain. "Alucard said you can't bite her. She's supposedly unable to be hurt," he said, then stopped to think. "But she can't stop us, either."
"Are you sure we can't bite her?" asked the third. He was peering at me through small, wrinkled covered eyes.
The second shook his head. "Nah, we can't. Alucard's trying to make peace with the vamp in charge of her and if we hurt her he might get ticked."
I figured that they weren't going to try to bite me, that was good. I think they could kill me if they tried. And it was good that Alucard was trying to be nice to Zeke. If things went wrong it might save me. It wasn't so good, however, that they knew I couldn't stop them. I had this really bad feeling that if they ignored me and went back to torturing the girls I would have to step in. Sure enough they ignored me and went back to their business, I tried one more time to talk to them.
"Look, if you're trying to make peace with Zeke, then you shouldn't be invading his territory and torturing the people in it," I snapped, they continued to ignore me. I watched as one sunk his teeth into a girl's neck and I knew they were out to kill. "Look, if you start doing this you're going to bring out a few slayer wannabes and we're all going to be in trouble."
One of the vamps turned back to me. "And what are you, Zeke's pet slayer wannabe?"
The irony of that almost made me crack up laughing right there and then. They wouldn't understand, but it was actually kind of funny. I couldn't surpress a grin, and the grin was bugging the vamp. "I'm no body's pet, and I'm not a wannabe, but I also can't let you do this." The vampire biting the girl clinched his teeth harder and she screamed. I knew there wasn't any time for talk, but I had to do something. I didn't even have a stake.
They were ignoring me again. I looked around for something. I remembered a pile of wood on the way here and ran back to it. The vampires paid no attention, and continued to ignore me when I came back with one of the sharper pieces of wood. The fact they weren't paying attention actually paid off. I walked up to the three of them, and while they were playing with their girls I took the stake and shoved it into one of their hearts and he burst into dust. It was actually easy.
They stopped ignoring me then, so I turned to run. They followed after me, and they were quicker. I just had to make it to the show. I had checked over a couple of the guns and I knew of a couple that were actually loaded and ready to go. One of them grabbed me and pulled me back. I couldn't twist out of his grasp, and I didn't have the strength to do anything else.
"What's the matter? You don't have slayer strength after all, do you?" The vampire mocked.
I shook my head. "No, not for years," I muttered. I did, however, have several years of different kinds of martial arts training, and I didn't mind taking the cheep shots. He grabbed me and pulled me towards him, preparing to bite, I nailed him in the balls, causing him to let go. Taking advantage of the extra bit of time I took off at another sprint before the vamp's partner could grab me.
I was tired when I reached the booths. People were starting to pack up and leave. I knew that the vampires were trying to find away to pull me to the side without drawing too much attention. I didn't care if I caught attention. I could always get out of here. I found the booth I needed just as a vampire grabbed me. Unfortunately it was in one of the corners back where there wasn't as clear of a view of us. Unfortunately the person in charge of the booth wasn't here either.
"If you don't make a fuss we won't kill you," the vampire growled into my ear.
I smirked. "As if I would believe you," I snapped.
I looked for a weapon close enough but couldn't find one in reach. There were several shotguns in the booth, and some older weapons under glass. I had talked to the owner of the collection. He liked to keep some of the oldest weapons, and keep them in working condition. I knew for a fact that they were all loaded and worked. They wouldn't kill the vamp, but they would slow it down.
"Whether or not you believe me doesn't matter. You can't stop us, you've run out of luck," he stated.
"Maybe, maybe not," I replied. He was holding both my arms, I couldn't run and my back was to him so I couldn't throw a punch. I could try elbowing him, but it wouldn't work very well. I settled on stomping on his foot. He yelped when I hit it, obviously with more force then I thought I could use. I pulled out of his grip long enough to jump over the counter and grab a gun.
He had hold of my leg before I could get completely over so I half fell once I had hold of the gun. I managed to turn though, and fired an easy shot at his chest. The great thing about a shotgun is that you didn't need great aim. It hardly mattered anyway, he was only a few feet away, but it helped. The guy I had kneed came up and I shot him too. I dropped the shotgun, glad that I was on the ground. The kick would have knocked me off my feet if I weren't. They were both recovering as I climbed back over, leaving the shotgun behind.
I recovered from shooting off the gun quicker than I thought I would, another lucky break for me. Now I was sprinting for the exit, where it appeared that my luck ran out. There were four more vampires waiting for me there. For a moment I though it was coincidence, but the way they started for me told me it wasn't. How they knew I was causing trouble I didn't know, but it didn't matter. I had to find a way to stay alive.
"Oh how I wish the guys were here," I muttered.
"Well, let's hope you don't need them," I recognized the British voice. The man from the sword booth was standing behind me. I didn't realize that I had made it back to his booth. He was still smiling at me. "Guns won't work, we both know that. I hear decapitation does it though. Swords are good at that." He still had that knowing look, but it didn't bug me that much anymore. I was more worried about ending up as dinner.
"Whoever you are, if I live through this you have some explaining," I said as I grabbed the sword that I had first been looking at. "Stupid sword," I muttered, not sure as to why I grabbed it. It was awkward and heavy, but it had sharp edges so it might work.
Six vampires. I remembered when this was easy. I'd gone up against worse, granted I had stakes and a crossbow, but swords worked. I didn't want to be in a corner, it gave me no where to run to. I was fast for a human, not so much for a vampire, but if I could get a head start then I just had to break into a near by house and they couldn't come in.
Hopefully, with whatever happened to me the two girls would get away. It would be very annoying if I got eaten and they went back and killed the girls. Then this really wouldn't be worth it.
I walked out into the clearing between booths. All the humans had scattered either when the gun shots went off or when the vampires showed up. I didn't have that luck. If there was any way for me to call for help I would have done it.
Taking a deep breath I focused. I closed my eyes for a moment, placing in my mind where each vampire was standing, how they were moving, and how they were going to attack. Feeling them came naturally to me. I forced myself to calm down as I waited for them to make the first move.
They attacked in threes, the first group coming at me in a run. I dodged several kicks and punches until one nailed me in the gut. With a gasp I fell backwards. One of them grabbed me, holding me still as the other two hit me a few more times. I took each hit, not sure as how to stop them. I twisted around a bit, trying to get the vamp holding me to let go. He didn't, but he did loosen his grasp. I elbowed him hard in the gut, taking him by surprise. I was able to pull away from him, dodging the other two's attacks. I crouched to the ground and quickly kicked the legs out from one of the two vampires that were still attacking. He fell to the ground as I jumped back up. Twisting in the air I pulled my leg around and kicked the third vamp in the head, knocking him back as well.
The second group was already attacking. They leapt over the fallen vampires without a second thought. One through a punch at me, I raised an arm to block it. I thrust my knee into his stomach before being pulled back by another. He grabbed me by the neck, trying to choke me. I dropped the sword that I had somehow managed to hold onto. The vamp wrapped an arm around me as his hand tightened against my throat. I wasn't used to having to breathe so while this normally wouldn't have been a problem being alive had down falls.
The vampire pulled me off the ground, but I pulled back. Once I got my feet back on the ground I used every ounce of strength I had to flip him over my shoulders. He landed with a thud and I was left gasping. Other vampires were getting to their feet so I had to stay on mine. Quickly I picked my sword back up. What surprised me was how quickly I kept recovering.
The vampire I hadn't fought yet was coming at me. He was using no strategy at all, and I took advantage of that. I barely had to aim my sword as I swung it at him. His head feel to the ground before his body burst into dust. One of the vampires that was already on his feet saw this. He began actually looking scared and he took off at a run.
"Two down," I murmured as I watched the other four reform.
They attacked again, determined to win. I attacked as well, dodging every blow they threw at me as I parried with a punch or a thrust of my sword. It didn't take long to dust another vampire, bringing me back to three on one.
I was tired and out of breath, but I had to keep fighting. I was wondering what happened to the British guy who had giving me the sword to start with. He obviously knew something about vampires. It would help if he did something useful. Unfortunately he was no where to be seen so I had to go on alone.
Again they attacked together, this time actually looking like they knew what they were doing. I dropped the sword again, but this time so that I could use both arms to block off attacks. I gave up on the sword theory. I had to find a stake to use against them. It would be quicker and more efficient. There was no way I could get back to the pile of wood scraps. I had to find a stake somewhere else.
That I would work on later, at the moment I was fighting off vampires, and they were wining. There was no time to look at where I was going but they were forcing me steadily backwards. With every punch I blocked and attack I made I knew I should have been getting exhausted, but I wasn't. If anything I was getting stronger, faster, and more energetic. There was nothing logical happening in this fight.
One of the vampires finally knocked me backwards and off my feet, causing me to fall. Instead of hitting the ground my back slammed into something sharp behind me. I cursed as I stumbled to the ground. Looking behind me I saw the edge of a fountain often used for decoration. The fountain was still going and the sound of splashing water was aggravating as I tried to calm the pain in my back.
I climbed to my feet, slowly and painfully. A vampire hit me in the face, knocking me back, but I couldn't move any further, being right next to the fountain's wall. I punched back, nailing him in the face. With a series of kicks I managed to get some room.
One of the vampires grabbed for me. I caught his arm and twisted it around until I heard something snap. He tried to pull back as he cried out in pain, but I held on as I pulled him down so I could easily kick him in the head so that he'd stay out of the fight.
The two other vamps came at me. I blocked a kick, quickly following it up with one of my own. I punched, he blocked. Turning I kicked him in the side, knocking the vamp back. The other rushed at me, I side stepped and let him run by as I delivered another blow to his friend. The vampire ran back at me, full speed. Instead of jumping out of the way I jumped onto the fountain's edge then immediately kicked off, twirling in the air before I kicked him in the face.
All three vampires were on the ground.
"Catch!" Someone yelled.
I turned to see who it was just in time to catch the wooden stake flying at me. In three quick movements I dusted the vampires. leaning back for a moment I finally got time to catch my breath. Just as I went to sit down, though, someone grabbed me and was pulling me up.
I looked to see the British man. "Come on, we have to get out of here," He ordered.
"Wait, what's going on?" I asked even as I allowed him to push me towards one of the side exits. He didn't explain, but instead lead me to a van that was waiting outside. The doors opened right as we got there and I was hurried inside of it before I had a chance to say anything else.
There were three men already inside, them plus an open trunk of weapons in the back seat. I didn't have time to ask who they were before the van started up and the driver sped out of there. I wasn't even in a seat yet and had to grab something to stop from falling over. The two men in the back helped me to a seat while I went over everything that just happened in my mind.
"Elisabeth Johnson I presume," The driver said in a thick British accent. I didn't need to hear the rest of them to guess that they were all British.
I nodded before saying, "Yeah, kind of anyway."
"What do you mean 'kind of'?"
I shook my head this time. "Nothing, nothing. Look, I appreciate the get away van, I really do, but I've got to go. I don't know who you are and I really need to be somewhere," I said. I had a horrible feeling about what was going on.
The man from the booth was looking strait at me and I was having a hard time not looking back. He had the presence of authority about him, making himself seam bigger than he was. "Look, I don't care who you are. I know that you know what they are, and I know that you know what they can do. I can't let you go out there and get killed. One of them got away? Remember? There's not a vampire in this town who won't be after you."
"They weren't from this town!" I yelled, getting fed up with him. "They're not from here, there are people here who won't be after me. I'll be just fine, let me go!"
That took him by surprise, but he soon recovered. "You're right, they're not from here. They're not even important. They were nobodies, foot soldiers, vampires sent out for the sole purpose of getting slaughtered. There are others though, older and more experienced. Others trained so that they can one day kill one person. You." He stared at me with such intensity that for a moment I actually thought he might be right.
Then I shook the thought out of my head. "No, you're wrong. Why would they kill me? Hmm? Why?" I asked. I needed an answer. Nothing was making sense and I needed that to change. These men knew something and they were going to tell me.
They were all silent for a moment, then the younger of the four said quite matter-of-factly, "Because you're the slayer."
A sword fight, dusted vampires and pizza. The chapter couldn't have been that bad, even if it was a tad longer than I normally make them. Eleven pages without the necessary spacing so it's not all one big blob. Anyway, thanks for all the review! While I'm not supposed to individually thank people, because I know certain people I know in real life really hate that sort of thing, I'm going to anyway.
Gidgetgirl: well, you kind of got a look at her in the beginning of the chapter, plus her name at the end, I hope that helps. I'm glad you like the idea, or at least what you know of it so far. I'm trying to throw in a plot twist later on but that won't be until she hooks up with the scoobies.
Son of Evil: ^.^ glad you liked it. History is next chapter. I figured it's about time and all. If you have any specific questions review them and I'll try to throw them into the story.
Beyondthesilence: Short review, short answer. Glad you like it. Hope you keep reading and I look forward to many reviews. ^.^
FanofFaith: Yes, the scobbies will show up, just not for. um. at least three chapters. I have to go through two years of important stuff (I skip around A LOT) to set up for when she joins the Buffy in season seven. But rest asured, you will see them. If you have any other questions, I'll make sure to get back to you.
Kurt Uhlig: Bremerton? Almost directly north of Puyallup. Actually, I moved a little north of here over the summer so I don't live in Puyallup anymore, though I'm there quite often. Don't know how often you've been to the fair but the fight actually takes place in a certain spot, but I'm not too wonderful at explaining it.
Thanks again!
~Rave