Note: I've posted a lot of chapters today because I'm so far ahead in the story already. I wanted to introduce another of the major characters. A little bit of swearing too. Enjoy.
Chapter Five – Snakes, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails
Through the next couple of towns, things were abandoned, but not burned. Wesley hoped they would meet no new resistance, human or demon. They were actually making fairly decent time, even though it still was tough going. They ate while they drove, only stopping once to check out a store for goods.
Wesley had time to think about what his relationship with Dawn would or wouldn't mean. He barely knew her. Had only met her a few times when he was in Sunnydale. Knew her through her sister. And also knew all of his memories had been altered anyway. He really had no idea what she was capable of. She was no slayer, of that he was sure. But she was very knowledgeable from her years in Sunnydale. And he knew she was resourceful. That was one thing that he needed.
Over the next couple of days, they had developed into a fairly good team. Dawn had made suggestions that had helped them immensely.
Their next hurdle though was getting through the town of Bishop. And on one of Wesley's reconnaissance missions he had discovered that demons were present. Big enough town for them to slaughter and be worth it. They'd definitely have to go around.
Wesley plotted out a route that would take them to the other side of town, but wouldn't get them back to the freeway. He needed to look for a way to accomplish that. But first they needed gas.
"We won't have enough to make it?" Dawn asked the night before.
"If we run into trouble, we might. Besides, I don't think we'd have enough to make it to Mammoth."
So gas first it was. They had spotted a station on the outskirts of town, but it was empty. Wesley saw several trucks that just sat in a parking lot behind the station. Amazingly they hadn't been touched. They were able to siphon enough off to fill the tank sufficiently.
"OK, the next time you suck the gas out while I look for bad guys. That was just gross," Dawn told him as they jumped back into the SUV.
For just a split second, he turned to grin at her. When he turned back around, someone stood in the vehicle's path. Wesley swerved and slammed on the brakes at the same time. He missed the person, but just barely.
"Bloody hell," he screamed as he brought the car to a stop. "Dawn, you OK?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. What about the guy you almost hit though? I think he's human."
Wesley saw the man approach from the rear view mirror. Something about his gait seemed very familiar.
"Dawn, stay in the car. Matter of fact, take the keys. If anything happens, just drive."
"I'm not leaving you."
"I hope it doesn't come to that."
The man stood near the rear of the car. Wesley got out and approached the figure. The sun blazed down overhead, which meant he couldn't see the man's face clearly. If his guess was right, he knew exactly who the man was.
"Connor," was all Wesley got out before he was taken down with a tackle. He brought his hand up to crunch the boy's nose, but Connor was faster. It hurt him, but not as much as Wesley had wanted it to.
Connor had disappeared after killing Jasmine. They had tried to find him in addition to all the other happenings, but there were no clues, no trace.
The boy had placed his hands around Wesley's neck while he had him pinned to the ground. Figures, Wesley thought. I saved him from his father killing him, so he now does the deed that his father didn't accomplish with that pillow.
His brain somewhat fogged from the lack of oxygen. But the cocking of a gun was no hallucination. Dawn had not listened to him again.
"Get away from him or I'll fucking blow your head off." He was such a poor influence on the girl.
Connor eased himself off Wesley. He could see that the boy had gained some bulk on his already too thin frame. He'd also cut his hair short. But the surly attitude was still apparent. Some things never change.
"Connor," Wesley choked out, trying to find his voice. "Dawn, don't hurt him." Thank goodness the girl had actually backed up so Connor couldn't immediately take her down too.
"Get away from him," Dawn told Connor as she aimed the gun straight at his head. "Move."
Connor slowly backed away from the two, confused. Wesley didn't trust him at the moment, maybe not at all.
"Connor, where have you been?" Wesley asked as he slowly rose from the dirt.
"You know him?" Dawn shrieked.
"What are you doing here? Where is everyone?" Wesley couldn't believe that Connor actually cared. "Look, Wes, things have changed. I've changed. I just needed to get away. So you want to tell me what's going on?"
It did look as if the boy had matured over the months.
"After Jasmine died, there was a demon uprising. They took over LA and moved on from there."
"Explains all the problems around here."
Dawn had put her hands on her hips, watching the two men talk like it was an average day. Wesley could tell she was ready to blow, having experienced her temper firsthand.
"You two know each other? Don't you think this is all a bit strange Wesley?"
Indeed it was. Dawn had a point. He didn't believe in coincidences. Maybe the Powers That Be at work?
"Dawn Summers, this is Connor. Connor, this is Dawn. She's the slayer's sister. Connor is Angel's son."
Both started talking at once.
"Faith has a sister?"
"Angel has a son?"
He put his hand up to stop the questions. "One, this is the other slayer's sister. Two, yes he is Angel's son. Strange and weird, I know."
Angel would be laughing right about then. Both teenagers were posturing. Dawn had her arms crossed in front of her, while Connor stood, brooding just like his father. It looked like he'd have to deal with two young children.
"Why'd you attack Wesley?" Uh oh, Dawn was taking up for him.
Connor gave her his meanest look. "Because he tried to run over me."
The kid was right. He had.
"Well, if you stand in the middle of the street, what did you think would happen?"
"If he had been paying attention, I wouldn't have gotten so angry and tried to choke him."
It was like being at a tennis match and watching two well-matched opponents volley back and forth. Since he was the subject, he'd have to intervene.
"Yeah, well, he saved me, bub, so you better watch you step."
Connor rolled his eyes. "We know how good he is at saving people, don't we Wesley."
The boy knew how to hit below the belt.
"And this is not the time to discuss this. Both of you get in the car."
They looked at him like he had lost his mind.
"I don't have to listen to you."
"You want him to come with us. You're crazy."
Insolent children indeed.
"Yes. We'll just stand out here and draw more attention to ourselves to attract every demon in town to come after us because we're such idiotic humans. Now get in the car."
The two muttered under their breaths, but complied, knowing he meant business.
"Where have you been staying, Connor? It's getting late. We'll need a place for the night." He'd have to trust the boy, at least for the night. Then he'd decide.
"Old, abandoned building not far from here." What was it with Connor and old, abandoned buildings?
"I even have a place to store your car."
Dawn climbed into the front, but turned to keep her eyes on the teenager.
"Could you tell your girlfriend to turn around?" Connor asked Wesley after he started the engine.
"Not my girlfriend, Connor. Just a little too young for me." Wesley could see in his rearview mirror that he had wounded Connor some. His so-called relationship with evil Cordy had made everyone squeamish. He wanted the boy to know that his relationship with the underage Dawn was appropriate.
Dawn's grip on the seat though was knuckle-white. The girl had actually thought they were a couple. She looked straight ahead now, not wanting Connor to see her face.
"Connor, there's a lot that we have to talk about. Let's find a safe place to do that."
"Yeah, sure. I have a feeling none of it is good."
Wesley shook his head yes, not saying a word.
They finally arrived at the abandoned building. Wesley was able to pull the SUV into it, thank goodness, so his spell for the night would not take so much out of him. He needed that energy to talk to Angel's son.
Wesley saw that Connor had set up shop and made it comfortable. No one would know on the outside that anyone lived there.
"What a dump," Dawn grumped. It wasn't like any of the other places had been palaces that they had stayed in over the past week.
"Home, sweet home," Connor pointed out sarcastically. He led them underground. At least if they had the lights on, no one would know.
"Food first." Connor's underground storage rooms held a good amount of food.
"Oh, Twinkies," Dawn cooed. Connor smiled at that. And looked at Dawn's bottom when she bent over to retrieve one. Like father, like son. He threw Wesley a couple cans of tuna and some soda.
"Yay. No jerky. And dessert to boot." Dawn acted downright giddy.
"Back up to the kitchen," Connor said while leading the way.
"Hey, crazy man. There was no kitchen that I saw."
"Just humor me. A person can dream."
The two sparred like that all the way back to the surface. Connor led them to an interior room after they had gathered their stuff for the night.
Comfortable indeed. He had a huge mattress, a table, chairs, and all the comforts of home.
"When's the last time you saw a human?" Wesley asked the boy as they sat to eat.
"A couple days ago. There's a whole network of resistance fighters. We've been trying to wreck havoc on the demons for a while now."
"Did you know about the uprising?"
"I knew something bad had happened. Especially when deliveries of food stopped and the electricity kept going out. There were a lot more demon sightings. People were leaving in droves. I decided to stick around and fight. There are a lot of us like that."
Oh, Connor, if you only knew the extent. You'd run too. Just like you did after killing Jasmine.
"You really aren't that bright, are you?" Dawn pointed out.
"Dawn," Wesley growled at her. "He doesn't know the whole picture."
"Tell me what happened then. Obviously something happened to the rest of them or you wouldn't be here."
TBC
Connor finds out the truth next. Please read and review. Thanks so much.