Time Explains Us by Erykah Miszti
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Chapter Six: Moving Onwards Badly
The nebulous mass of energy was perfectionist at a neutrinal level…
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Buffy stared out of the window of the train and watched the English countryside speeding past. "Green" and "leafy" were her main opinions on it so far.
Buffy had picked their carriage based on its emptiness. There was only herself and William - and their meagre luggage - in the small and dark but plushly furnished compartment.
Bored, she trained her attention onto William instead. He hadn't said anything beyond monosyllables since Mortimer had told him about his parents. Buffy got the feeling that they had been a close family.. in that really English kinda way. He was currently staring out the window too but he didn't look like he was noticing either the greenness or the leafiness.
He didn't look up for talking about it. Not that she blamed him. The only person she'd been able to talk to about her mother dying had been Spike… she stopped that little train of thought right there. This was all too weird. The guy in front of her and Spike seemed worlds apart… except for that one moment after he'd bashed Angelus with the lamp… and when he'd looked at her afterwards… but that was back to the top of the "things to not think about" list again.
Angelus and the girls had definitely had their version of fun with William's parents. The 'pieces' they'd left had barely been identifiable and were certainly geared towards Angelus' usual "drive them nuts" style of stalking his victims. She knew exactly how it felt to be on the receiving end of that. It had nearly broken her, not that she'd admit that to many people… or any really…or even think about it really…except now. She was thinking about it too much now. Last night sleep had been a real no-no.
She'd sat up with Mortimer discussing what they planned to do… hence the train.
In a way she was slightly grateful for William's almost catatonic state… it meant that he'd just followed her onto the train without asking where they were going. It felt like another one of those huge responsibilities though… he'd happily placed his life in her hands. Hers. A complete stranger. But then that was part of what being the Slayer was about.
Buffy sighed. That was one of the things she did like about Spike… she didn't have to rescue him all the time. And NO… she wasn't thinking about this either.
The train was bound for Nottingham. They'd discussed going to York first but Buffy had vetoed that idea. The small family estate would be the first place Angelus would look. Mortimer had sent word to York, to William's younger sister… not telling her that her parents were dead but telling her to get packed and leave the house as soon as possible. Mortimer would head north to collect her and take him to the home of, yet another, "female friend" of his. There was no traceable connection between him and this woman, so Angelus would not be able to find her. He'd also break the news to her personally.
They would meet up at the "secret location" where the Watcher's Council had their library and records stores. It was somewhere in Nottinghamshire… a coach would be waiting for them at the train station… and there was a plan for contacting the Council should anything happen in the meantime.
Almost as if on cue, something happened in the meantime.
A knocked sounded on the door and Buffy looked up warily. William didn't move, not even when the door opened.
"Sorry." Buffy began apologetically. "We're full in here." It was a bit of lie actually.
"That's alright." The large, green and horned demon said. "We're not staying…just collecting." More of his kind appeared behind him.
With the definite lack of space in the compartment, their brute strength won out over Buffy's fighting and both her and William were unceremoniously dragged out. William finally woke from his stupor in time to fight back a little but it was no use.
The train carriages they were man (demon?) handled through were all empty… in fact, Buffy realised, the whole damn train was empty. That might have been the bumping. Earlier there had been bumping. Buffy didn't really know anything about steam trains and had assumed that was normal but, with hindsight, that might have been their carriage being uncoupled and re-attached to a different train. Buffy would have kicked herself for her stupidity if the demons hadn't been holding her so tightly.
The carriage they were finally pushed into seemed to be a dining car but with most of the tables removed. At the last remaining one sat Angelus, Darla and Dru. The windows were all heavy curtained to block out the daylight.
Dru clapped with delight as she saw William, while Darla and Angelus smirked at Buffy.
"Oh look." Buffy commented wryly. "It's a party."
"Ssshh." Drusilla told her and cupped a hand to her ear. "The flies are buzzing out a sad song… the kittens are dead but the rats are drunk on blood. We must all be quiet, or we'll break their bones but we wont make bread." She smiled sadly.
"Oh please." Buffy commented. "Just kill us. Don't make us listen to this…"
Dru cackled.
"Can't kill you." She grinned nastily. "You're already dead."
"No." Buffy stated flatly. "I think you're confusing me with you."
"Oh, we can kill her Dru." Angelus smirked. "We can kill them both."
"Well Dru…" Darla said impatiently. "Go get your man… or whatever he is." She gave William a cursory glance over…obviously not impressed. She stroked Angelus' arm possessively while Angelus all but drooled over Buffy.
Dru oozed out of her seat and went over to William. He cowered away from her touch in revulsion.
"Leave him alone…" Buffy stated and tried to break free of the grip the demons had on her. They just held on tighter.
"You wont get away from them." Darla laughed. "They're Ouzelum demons… they're not afraid of anything and more than used to dealing with unruly travelers. Centuries of experience."
Buffy looked on helplessly as Dru continued to stroke Williams face, letting her hands slide down to his neck and over his chest… then drip dramatically lower. Buffy struggled harder. For some reason the sight of Dru with her hands on him was really irritating her. He was trying to struggle too but his eyes were locked to hers and his struggles were getting less and less.
Angelus strode over to Buffy, grabbing her chin and dragging her gaze to his.
"Forgot about helping him." He told her coldly. "Your only choice is do you want to die… or do you want to join him and come with us?"
"Angelus." Darla said menacingly. "We don't need anymore… companions. She's just dinner."
She came up to him and reached her arms around his waist. Buffy did NOT want to know what she was doing with her hands… the expression on Angelus' face said more than enough about it.
"Jealous, lover?" Angelus asked of Darla as he let go of Buffy and turned in her arms.
Darla reached one hand up and scratched his face, then licked off the blood. Buffy turned away even more disgusted as the pair started kissing passionately. Unfortunately that meant she was looking at Dru and William… who were also kissing. He wasn't being held by the demons anymore… he was very into kissing her back… really not looking like he was complaining about the situation at all. And that really did piss Buffy off.
"William!" She called out and struggled again.
She realised then that the hold of the demons had grown looser... they were watching the kissing couples. Must have been getting them hot, because they did seem distracted. Buffy grabbed the chance and used her strength and their hold to swing her legs up and kick the two on each side of her in the face. A few well aimed punches and the demons were no longer hot for the kissing but all out fighting one little girl for their skins.
Buffy raced over and dragged Dru off William, shoving her off into the farthest corner of the carriage. William collapsed into a heap on the floor but Buffy had no time to check he was okay as Angelus and Darla came at her together. Her dress was looser than it had been for her last fight with them, so she was actually able to breathe but her kicks were still seriously hampered by the lack of give in the fabric. She took a moment to rip it before she charged into the fray, getting in a kick to Angelus' ribs that sent him curling up in pain, before she spun around to punch Darla. The demons had recovered by now, so they re-entered the fight... giving Buffy lousy odds of one on seven… three of those being vamps that she probably couldn't get away with dusting, no matter how much she really wanted to. That messing up history thing was really working against her.
Flight seemed like a better plan but William didn't seem capable of movement. As Buffy whirled and punched and kicked her attackers, she could see him watching her in awe but not moving to do anything. He looked stunned by the whole thing.
"William!" She yelled at him and he started with a gasp.
Dru noticed him trying to stand and pulled out of the fight to go to him. Buffy saw this but there was nothing she could do. He'd just have to sink or swim on his own for the moment. She kicked Angelus into the wall, knocked the demons heads together and pulled out a chunk of Darla's hair... setting the vampire screaming and clawing at her.
From the corner of her eye, Buffy could see William fighting to fight off Drusilla... he was avoiding her eyes but she kept talking and, although she couldn't hear Dru's low whispers, Buffy could see William weakening.
Buffy couldn't take any more... she grabbed for one of the curtains and gave it a hefty pull... daylight flooded into the carriage and the vampires drew back in horror and pain... slamming into the demons in their flight from the sunlight. Buffy turned, barreled into William and ran for the door. He all but collapsed into her arms and she half dragged him out, slamming and locking the door behind them. It was a flimsy lock though and the demons were already about to break through.
Buffy ran behind William down the narrowing corridors, giving him a shove any time he looked the stopping. The train was indeed empty and not very long. After only a few minutes they slammed through a door only to find themselves standing on a narrow platform at the very end of the speeding train.
"No more train." William pointed out uselessly as Buffy closed the door and looked for some way to bar it. There was nothing. William was panting heavily and clinging to the rail as if he could barely stand.
The demons arrived on the other side of the door and began hammering on it.
"This wont hold." Buffy gasped, keeping pressure on the door.
William looked down over the rail at the tracks, then at the countryside beyond them.
"Only one option then." He told her, turning to look her in the eyes. "We jump."
"Off the train?" She asked wide-eyed. "YOU'RE suggesting we jump off the moving train?!"
"Alright, how about we stay and die instead..." He replied snarkily.
"I know." Buffy said as if coming to a great revelation. "Let's jump."
William rolled his eyes.
"On three?" She suggested.
She let go of the door and they readied themselves on the edge.
"You first." He told her, gripping onto her waist instinctively.
"What about you?" She asked, turning slightly to meet his eyes.
"I'll be right behind you." He told her seriously, clasping her hand in his. She gripped it tightly momentarily
"You better be." She threatened, turned and jumped... rolling as she hit the ground.
The door behind William began to buckle. He glanced behind him in a panic, then looked back towards Buffy where had landed.
"Bloody hell!!!" He yelled as he jumped off the train.