Mallory, Slayer of the Vampyres
The Slayer stood at the crypt's entrance, torn. It was her duty, nay, her sacred calling to destroy the beast within, but every fiber of her being called out to her, telling her to follow her heart. She entered, slowly, hesitantly.
"Where art thou?" she called out in despair, clasping her hand to her bosom. "Art thou home?"
"I amst," came the answering voice. Throwing caution to the wind, they rushed towards each other. He took her in his arms and held her. She disappeared into him. They were as one.
All night she lay with him, reveling in their love. She knew, though, that on the morn she would have no choice but to drive a stake through his heart. For how could a Slayer ever truly love a vampire?
I didn't think much about my fight with Jessi at first. I had practice all afternoon, and after dinner we had a Super Slayers Club Super Secret Training Ritual that went way late. I was so busy, in fact, that the entire incident slipped from my mind.
It wasn't until the next evening that I had time to think. The older girls were off on a field exercise and Jasmina had gone to bed early (she never stays up late if we don't make her). As a result, I was left pretty much alone.
I worked on my Slayer book for a little while. It was going really well, (wriggly well, in fact), but somehow my heart just wasn't in it.
I glanced around my room, looking for something else to keep me occupied and my eye fell on Misty of Chincoteague. That's one of my all-time favorite books and I had brought it with me to read when I had free time.
This was the first chance I had to pick it up, however, and when I did I opened straight to my favorite part – where Paul first rides the Phantom. All of a sudden, though, tears started streaming down my face. That was Jessi's favorite part too!
Poor Jessi. I had gotten so caught up in being a Slayer, I had forgotten all about her. It's not her fault she's not one of the Chosen Ones! What had I done?
I resolved to search her out first thing tomorrow morning to apologize. Maybe she'd even let me teach her some shiny new fighting moves as a peace offering. Yeah, that would work. She may not be up to Slayer strength, but I'm sure she could be good enough to defeat a Muvoldian Spike Demon.
After that, I felt much better and it was only a few minutes before I was fast asleep.
I woke up the next morning and begin plotting my plan of attack. I decided right away not to catch her at Angel's apartment, partly because I didn't want to talk to her in front of everyone and partly because I found the whole thing kind of creepy – everyone knows Slayers aren't supposed to be friendly with vampires. I even had a whole chapter about it in my novel!
The daycare center was way too public too, and I wouldn't want to interfere with her job. No, I decided I'd stake her out in the practice room I'd seen her in. She had sure acted like she spent a lot of time there, and it was a corner of the building we weren't likely to be disturbed in.
I took my notebook and a pen to the practice room and prepared for a long stakeout. Unfortunately, I made a major tactical error in that I forgot to bring any food. By ten AM I was hungry; by three PM, I was starving. On the other hand, it was great inspiration (as a writer, I'm always on the lookout for inspiration), and I wrote several chapters in which my Slayer was stranded in a cave without food or water. It was dibbley winny.
Anyway, at about four I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I may not like to associate with a vampire, but if that's what I had to do to find Jessi, it was worth it. I set off down the long (and oddly deserted corridors) in the direction of Angel's apartment.
It took me a while to get there (actually, I got a bit lost), but eventually I reached his hallway, and who should I see but Claudia! She looked unusually panicked. I wondered if the cafeteria had run out of Pop Tarts or something.
"Mallory, thank God you're here. You have to help me find Stacey. She never made it to the auditorium!"
It was kind of incoherent, but I got the gist. "Have you checked Angel's apartment?" I asked, hoping maybe she'd seen Jessi there as well.
Claudia looked shocked. "No, she wouldn't go there. . ." she started to say, but was interrupted by the sound of a high-pitched scream coming from down the hall. We both sprinted towards the noise, and when we got there we found Angel's door askew. I kept Claudia behind me for her own protection, and we headed in the direction of the scream.
When I peered into the back room and saw what was inside, I gasped and Claudia squealed. Angel was in full-out vamp face, and he had sunk his teeth deep into Stacey's neck.
I started to rush forwards to attack, but before I could, Angel dropped Stacey and started spitting her blood out onto the carpet.
"Aack. Aack. Aack," he cried while spitting, "This is disgusting. It tastes like Kool Aid."
"Hey, I like Kool Aid," put in Claudia.
At the same time Spike, who had been lurking in the shadows, interjected, "It can't be that bad, pass it over here." He picked up Stacey's unconscious body and took a sip, "Oh bloody Hell. You're right. It's horrible. Did you fall for the old drugged bait trick again, Angelus?"
"It's probably because she's diabetic," I put in helpfully, "that means she has high-blood sugar."
"No doubt," Angel (Angelus?) replied, still sputtering a bit. "Are you diabetic?" I didn't like the way he was looking at me, and remembered I was supposed to be attacking him. I tore the wooden leg off a nearby chair and rushed him.
"Oh no, not the antique furniture; that's Angel's favorite," he said sarcastically, fending me off easily. I moved forward again, and we traded blows.
"Listen," shouted Spike over the din, "as much as I'd love to stick around and munch on Little Miss Slayer here, I think we should find Drusilla and get out, before your afternoon snack's scream brings down half the complex on us."
"Good point," he said, and gave me one last shove that sent me skittering across the room. By the time Claudia had helped me to my feet, Angel and Spike had disappeared.
We ran over to where Stacey lay, crumpled on the floor, and I checked her pulse (all us baby-sitters have First Aid certification). It was weak, but she was alive. I wanted to stay with her, but I knew I didn't have time. Angel and Spike were on the loose.
I left Claudia feeding Stacey some of her emergency Twizzlers while I went off to find help. The corridors were still deserted, but that made sense now. Everyone must have evacuated when they found out Angel and Spike had gone rogue. If you had told me two days ago that I alone would have to stand against two super-strong evil vampires I would have been totally excited, but now that it was actually happening, I had to admit that I was more than a bit scared.
Following Spike and Angel turned out to be really easy, because one of them had stepped in Stacey's blood and was tracking it all over the building. They had had quite a head start though, so even though I could follow them, I couldn't see them. Finally, though, after what seemed like an hour, I heard a commotion up ahead.
I turned a corner and found myself in front of the daycare center. Spike and Angel were embroiled in a furious fight with several girls. One of them turned around so I could see her face, and I gasped. It was Jasmina! The Super Slayers Club was on the job!
I ran up to join them, and Kerry tossed me a stake, whispering "We're guarding the daycare center – it has its own defenses so they shouldn't be able to get in, but just in case . . ."
I nodded and raised my stake, looking for opportunity. I got it when Michelle, locked in a tight struggle with Angel, maneuvered so his back was to mine. I aimed and released.
My stake arced through the air, but just when it was about to land, a small figure jumped in the air and intercepted it. She was dressed all in black, and I didn't recognize her at first. Then I noticed her long, pale blonde hair and I gasped.
It was Dawn. She saw me and glared. "You're not killing him after all the work we did to detox him!" she shouted.
"Good little girl," said a pretty woman in a long dress, who had appeared with Dawn, "the little Slayer is a danger to our plans. Take her out!" The woman spun around and punched Dierdre, who had been sneaking up behind her.
Dawn smiled, and jumped at me. Was Dawn a Slayer too? She grabbed my shoulder harshly and my Slayer senses tingled. There were evil forces at work here. But I didn't have time to figure it out right now.
I shoved at her, knocking her down and then falling on top of her myself. We rolled on the ground, neither of us getting an advantage.
Then the hallway was filled with a bright light. Mesmerized, we all stopped for just a moment, long enough for me to see Jessi standing at the end of the hall holding a glowing orb in each time and reciting a spell in some language I had never heard. Mary Anne stood beside her, brandishing an ancient looking scroll.
I got my wits together before Dawn did and knocked her head against the wall, just hard enough to knock her out. She crumpled to the floor, unconscious. At the same time, Dierdre managed to shove the mysterious woman into a wall, and she too fell motionless.
Glancing around me, I realized that everyone had stopped fighting. Spike and Angel were on the floor, writhing in pain, and Jessi was standing over them smiling. "Their souls have been restored," she told us, "they won't hurt anybody now."
I hugged her. "Jessi, I'm so sorry. I never had any right to talk to you the way I did, and I've felt horrible about it for days!"
She grinned. "No problem! I probably deserved it. Besides, I'm apprenticed to Willow now. Think you could use a witch to help you out?"
I took her hand, and led her over to the Super Slayer girls. They hugged her, too, and I knew that I'd never have to choose between my two sets of friends again.
Jasmina might be my Slayer-best-friend, but Jessi would always be my best-best friend.
My thoughts were interrupted by a loud gasp. It was Angel, still lying on the floor. "Stacey! I think she's. . ."
"She's fine!" Jessi said. "Willow found her and sent a healing witch to your apartment."
"Thank God," he said, shuddering. Just then, Stacey entered in the hallway, still very pale and leaning on Claudia for support.
"It's okay, Angel," she told him, "I know it wasn't your fault. But. . ." she hesitated, "I don't know quite how to say this, but I think we should see other people."
"Umm, yeah, sure," Angel said, looking confused. Anything else he might have said was cut off.
The woman who Dierdre had knocked out had suddenly jumped to her feet and grabbed Dawn's body, which was lying only a few feet away. She morphed into vamp face, and held Dawn's neck against her fangs.
"Oi, Spike . . . Angelus . . .they took you from me again," she said, in a voice that made my skin crawl, "but unless you want this girl to die, you'll let me go."
"What did you do to her, anyway, Dru?" Spike asked. She only giggled in reply, and started to edge towards the exit.
When she was almost to the end of the hall, the door of the daycare center opened, and Kristy appeared. "Oh, there you all are! Good, I was hoping to find you!" She noticed Drusilla about to turn the corner, and shouted "Hey, I'm going to need her!"
Before anyone had time to blink, she had pulled the pencil from behind her ear and thrown it straight into Drusilla's heart. A moment later, Dawn was lying on the floor in a pile of dust. She opened her eyes and looked around, confused.
Kristy, meanwhile, glanced at her checklist. "Are you ready to listen now?" she barked. "Good. Slayerfest 2005 is this weekend and I have jobs for you all. Thanks for bringing all the extra girls, Mallory! They'll be so helpful!"
The BSC, the Super Slayers Club, and both vampires stood there stunned, as Kristy gave us each an assignment sheet.