"I'm not hearing anymore bullshit explanations. I want something serious, honest and... would you shut the fuck up!"
Hunter whirled around and stared at Trish as she sat in the chair. Her neck was bent painfully to the side as Stephanie pressed a warm towel against her skin. Randy knelt in front of her, not holding her hand but with his touch hovering just above her legs. Trish had been screaming since they got in the car and she realized there was blood on her neck. When she saw the small, shallow holes she had become frantic. Stephanie offered to slap her. Hunter offered to smother her.
Faith looked around the room and wished she knew what to say to them. She didn't know what had happened anymore than they did. Everything had happened so fast, then stopped so abruptly. After her brief question of shock, she hadn't said another word. They had all rushed upstairs to Hunter and Stephanie's suite, ignoring any and all calls their way. The police could have been after them for all they knew, and they didn't want anyone to see them with blood on their clothes.
"I don't know what the hell happened, and I don't know why. It just... it felt like what I should do, ya know? The guy was there and he was about to attack Dave. One had already bit Trish..."
"He bit me! He fucking... Who bites anyone anymore! And... ow, it hurts! Steph, stop pressing so hard!"
"I've got to get it to stop bleeding!" Stephanie pressed down a little harder. "It's not that deep, but it just keeps coming out."
"It'll stop soon." Faith moved across the room and looked out the window. They were too far up for her to see anything, but she could feel them. Whoever was out there... She felt there were more of them out there, but she didn't know exactly what they were. She kept wanting to say people, but that didn't seem to describe them. Her imagination wanted to say vampires, but she looked like a maniac already. She didn't want to look even crazier.
The others had rushed her off. Dave had held her wrist so tightly that she thought the small bones would be crushed under the weight of his grip. The first order of business had been to get the hell out of dodge. Sure, they were covering their own asses, but Faith couldn't help the burst of joy within her at the thought that someone was actually trying to protect her. They weren't going to throw her to the wolves. She had an idea that people didn't do that for her much in her past life.
"How do you know it'll stop, huh?" Trish narrowed her eyes, then winced as Stephanie pressed down again. "Dammit, Steph! Stop trying to break my neck!"
"I'm not! Though, if you keep yelling at me like that, I just might consider it."
"Try it, bitch. I'll be up and on your ass so fast..."
"You won't do anything but whine like you're whining right now."
"I am not whining!"
"Yeah, you are."
"I am not!" She shifted her eyes. "Randy! Tell her I'm not whining!"
"But, uh... you sorta are, Trish." He edged back, just in case she jumped up and attacked. "Just a little..."
"Well... you get bitten on the neck by some freak and we'll see how much you whine."
"Would you all shut the fuck up!" Hunter stalked around the room. He stopped for a second at Ric, waiting for him to say something. When he said nothing, he kept stalking. "We've gotta figure something out. We have to get our story straight because we're each other's alibis if the cops come banging on the door."
"Simple story." Ric shoved his hands deep in his pockets and slowly began to walk back and forth across a small spanse of the floor. "We went to the cemetary and got attacked. We just tell the truth." Ric snorted a laugh. "Novel fuckin' idea, huh?"
"The truth." Hunter growled, then smirked. "The first time in his entire life, Ric Flair picks now to decide to tell the truth. She killed somebody, Ric! We can't tell the cops that! We can't just say, 'Oh sorry, Officer, but our friend stabbed a freak in the chest with a stick and murdered him.' They'd lock us all away."
For the first time since arriving at the hotel, Dave spoke. "She didn't kill anyone," he said, his voice low. He'd spent the entire time watching Faith, trying to come up with some kind of idea of what was going on that made sense. She had been quiet and confused, but her body was jumping. During the ride to the hotel, she kept touching him. If they hadn't all been shuttled into Hunter's room, she probably would have dragged him to their own hotel room and jumped him. She was excited and turned on. It seemed so natural that he had to believe that she had done this all before.
He stepped up behind Faith and put his hands on her hips. She gave a slight jump, then settled down. Her body went rigid for a second, then she loosened up and leaned back until she was leaning against his chest. "Someone," he said, "implies a person, and that was not a person."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Hunter asked him.
"People don't burst into a cloud of ashes when they get stabbed, H. They bleed. People don't have fangs. People don't have that kinda strength to where we had to actually fight. They were small and there's no way in hell they should have gotten as many shots in on us as they did."
"So... what are you tryin' to say? If you're gonna say..." He shook his head. "That chick is driving you crazy, man. Her insanity is rubbing off on you. What the hell did we expect to happen when we went trolling a cemetary? Damn sure not anything good."
"I'm not saying anything." His arms slid around Faith's waist. He pulled her tightly against him. His cheek rubbed against her hair. "What was it, Faith?"
"I... I don't know."
"Yes, you do. You've seen it before."
"I haven't."
"You knew they would be there. You knew something was there. You knew what to do. Just... say it."
"I... I can't." She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to pull away, but Dave wouldn't let her go. Behind her eyelids, she could see the... thing... going to dust. She could see others doing the same thing, and every time it had been her hand that held the sharpened wood. She heard a word ringing between her ears. Slayer. She didn't know what it meant, but at the same time, she wanted to change that and say yes she did.
But, she couldn't say it. If she told them, they would turn away from her. They would leave her behind and she would be left to fend for herself. She knew that others always did that to her. She was too rowdy, too aggressive, too dangerous. If she just ignored it, if she denied it, everything would be alright. But, if she said the words that were on the tip of her tongue, her good life was over. She'd go back into the darkness, spending every night waiting for them to come out. Waiting for something else. Waiting for anything that was in the category of "those she was meant to kill." She had a duty, but it was one she wished she could deny.
"We know what it is, Faith." Stephanie's voice was strong and close. Faith didn't open her eyes. She didn't turn around. "It's crazy and stupid, but what else could it be?"
"It bit me," Trish said. "People don't just... bite. And they don't have eyes like that."
"And," Randy put in, "they're not strong enough to throw us around like fucking rag dolls."
"They don't run that fast," Ric told her.
"This is fucking insane, but people don't burst into dust." Hunter's voice was still angry, but he wasn't screaming anymore.
They were all around her. Dave held her, but the others were close enough to form a tight circle around the two of them. These were her friends. These were her people. They would understand, even if she didn't. They would try to help her figure things out. They would be there so she didn't have to hunt alone. She wouldn't have to hunt at all, because they wouldn't make her. They wouldn't force her out into the night and admonish her if she didn't do it the right way, whatever that it was. They helped her in the ring and they would help her out of it because they were her friends, and she didn't know if she had ever had friends before.
Faith took in a deep breath. She gripped Dave's arms tightly, her nails scratching at the cloth of his light blue dress shirt. Her breath came out shakily. Slowly, her eyes opened and she whispered. "They were vampires." Her throat convulsed painfully and her chest tightened. Yet, her voice was steady as though she spoke the truth and knew it. "They were vampires and there are more out there. And..." She stood up straight and pulled away from Dave. Faith looked around to everyone and slowly said, "...it's my duty to destroy them... I think."