Animatus

Notes: Thanks for the reviews and, as always, keep them coming. I'm having so much fun with this fic, but I have a feeling you all are going to hate me by the time it's done. Cue the evil laughter.

Previously:

"You know," Buffy said softly, "we had our problems – some big problems that may never go away. But I'm glad you're here."

"It's like you said, B," Faith nodded, "two Slayers are better than one." Smiling over at the blonde Slayer, she picked up her pace, urging the others to do the same.

Buffy lingered behind, watching Faith lead the group. Faith had never been a leader, but something seemed to have woken up in her when she awoke from her coma. "Two Slayers are better than one," she whispered. "But that's not why I'm glad you're here."

Chapter Ten: The People Lost Along the Way:

Faith sat alone in the cafeteria with the sounds of other children laughing and eating filling her ears. Her stomach growled loudly, but she ignored it. Her mother never gave her money for lunch. She had learned to deal with hunger, among other things. She knew that the other kids were laughing at her, snickering behind their freshly prepared peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She let her eyes fall on the table where the popular third grade girls sat. One girl in particular caught her gaze. She had blonde pigtails, which were tied back with pink ribbons. Her name was Rachel and she had been best friends with Faith until the year before, when Rachel's mother discovered that Faith's mother was a drug addict. After that, Rachel was not allowed to bring Faith over for play dates anymore. Now, the blonde haired girl did not even speak to her.

Faith sighed and laid her head down on her arms. Lunch would be over soon. Recess would end just as quickly, as well as her afternoon classes, and she would have to return home. She shuddered, dreading the moment when the final bell of the day would ring. All of the other kids would leap from their seats, happy to run out to the parking lot to meet their parents. Faith's mother never came to pick her up from school. She never met the little girl at the bus stop. Faith was not even sure that her mother knew that she went to school.

Faith was lonely sometimes, sitting at the table by herself in the cafeteria or wandering the outskirts of the recess field, hoping someone would invite her to play, though no one ever did. But she had learned that people only let her down. She did not need anyone else to be happy, though she sometimes wondered if she really was happy, or if she had just deceived herself into thinking so. "I don't need anyone," she whispered to herself, ignoring the sharp pangs of hunger that ravaged her stomach.

"Can I sit here?" A small voice asked, so softly that Faith almost missed the words. Looking up, she saw an uncertain, hesitant, brown haired girl standing before her, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet, while she held a brown, paper lunch bag in her hands. Faith shrugged and the other girl sat down across from her. "What's your name?"

"Faith," Faith answered, watching the girl unpack a sandwich.

"I'm Christy," the girl said, smiling. "Don't you have a lunch?"

"No," Faith replied.

"Well, here," Christy said, tearing her sandwich in half. "Take some of mine."

"You don't have to," Faith said, glancing at her warily, though she accepted the sandwich eagerly.

"I know," Christy shrugged. "I want to."

……………………………………

"We're not gonna make it to the Bronze in time are we?" Buffy asked as she jogged along side of Faith.

"No," Faith acknowledged. The last rays of the sun shimmered on the horizon. Faith felt like her blood was boiling in her veins. Her heart raced wildly. Despite her attempts to calm her breathing, her lungs strained for more air. She and Buffy were leading the others down a street that ran parallel to Main Street. The Bronze was four blocks away on the right. Though the distance was not great, Faith did not know what lay between them and their destination.

"Maybe we should stop," Buffy suggested.

"Where?" Faith asked. "It's not safe here."

"We never should have left the campus," Willow interjected.

"It wasn't safe there either," Buffy shot back.

Faith ignored the bickering women. Turning a corner, she froze, stopping dead in her tracks. "Shit…Faith!" Buffy muttered, ramming into the younger girl's back, not expecting her to have stopped so suddenly.

"Turn around," Faith instructed softly.

"Why?" Anya asked as the others turned the corner as well.

"That's why," Faith said, pointing a group of zombies lumbering down the street towards them.

"Go!" Buffy urged. The group turned and retraced their steps down the previous street. However, before they had walked far, they saw another group of zombies pacing towards them from behind.

"We're trapped," Riley stated.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Faith muttered.

"What do we do now?" Buffy asked. Pulling a breath of air deep into her lungs, Faith exhaled slowly. The world seemed to be spinning out of control around her. "Faith?" Buffy asked.

"I have a really bad feeling," Faith whispered anxiously. Buffy narrowed her eyes and gazed into the dark haired Slayer's face. Faith was terrified. "Do you remember when I said that becoming one of them wouldn't be so bad? I was wrong."

"We need a plan, Faith," Buffy said, stepping forward and laying a reassuring hand on the younger girls' arm. As soon as the blonde Slayer's fingertips hit Faith's skin, she felt a jolt of electricity run through her, centering her in the moment. Faith blinked rapidly and glanced down at Buffy, startled by her close proximity.

"There is such a thing as personal space, B," Faith said jokingly.

"I know," Buffy replied, though she did not move backwards.

Faith looked back at the zombies advancing towards them. The street between them and the zombies was littered with abandoned cars. "I have a plan," Faith suddenly announced.

"It's about damn time," Anya muttered.

"One of these cars has to work still," Faith said. "Find one that does and find it soon."

The group quickly fanned out, searching the abandoned cars. Unfortunately, many of them had been left running when their owners chose to run for their lives, or were taken down by the zombies. The cars had either been depleted of gas or their batteries had been run dead. Faith jumped into the nearest car and searched desperately for the keys. Though she could hotwire the vehicle, she knew that she did not have time. Exiting the car, she ran to the next one. Glancing up after her latest failure, she saw the others doing the same. "Shit," she muttered, slamming her hand down on the steering wheel. The zombies in Sunnydale were quite different from those at the campus. The zombies at U.C. Sunnydale were much smarter and faster than the zombies wandering through the streets of the town. They had some time before the zombies would reach them, but not much.

Faith glanced over at Anya before exiting the car and running towards another. Anya jumped into an SUV and flipped down the visor, searching for keys as well. A key ring filled with keys fell into her lap. "Bingo," she said. She tried several unsuccessfully before she found the right one. Shoving it into the ignition, she turned it, groaning when the engine failed to start. A strange feeling crept over her as she threw the keys onto the seat next to her. A second before it happened, she knew that something was terribly wrong. Before she could react, a pair of hands reached forward from behind her seat, clamping firmly down on her arms. Lunging over the seat, a deformed and rotting man in his forties hissed and slammed his teeth down into her shoulder.

"Fuck!" Anya yelled, struggling to rip herself free from his grasp. Slamming her head back into the zombie's face, she wrenched the car door open and tumbled down onto the street.

"Anya?" Faith asked, watching her fall from the car. "Oh no," she muttered when she saw the blood coating her friend's shoulder. Running over to the ex-vengeance demon, she pulled her away from the car. The zombie inside was struggling to crawl out. Lifting her gun, Faith pulled the trigger, watching with satisfaction as the man's head exploded into a fine, red mist. "It bit you didn't it?" Faith asked as she helped Anya to her feet.

"What happened?" Buffy asked, rushing over.

"Yeah," Anya said, her face turning deathly pale. "I'm so fucked."

"No," Faith said, firmly, shaking her head. "You're okay."

"I'm gonna turn into one of them," Anya stated tearfully.

"She got bitten?" Buffy asked fearfully. Faith nodded.

Suddenly, the roar of an engine filled the otherwise silent night. "I got one started!" Riley shouted. Willow and Tara, abandoned their search and ran over to the car, oblivious to what was happening.

"Go," Anya said, wiping tears from her eyes, and nodding towards the car. Shoving her shotgun into Faith's hands, she grabbed a handgun from her belt and pulled back the hammer.

"No," Faith said heatedly. "I'm not going to leave you here."

"You have to!" Anya shouted. "Get out of here."

"Faith," Buffy said, pulling her arm. "We have to go."

"I can't leave her," Faith pleaded.

"You can't do anything for me," Anya interjected, grabbing the dark haired Slayer and pulling her into a quick embrace. "Good luck," she whispered in her ear. Then, releasing her, Anya raised her gun. "Now get out of here. I'll make sure they don't follow you."

Faith hesitated for a moment as Buffy ran towards the car. "Fuck 'em up, yeah?" She said, smiling crookedly. Anya nodded. Turning, Faith ran, hopping into the backseat of the car as Riley pulled away down the street. Anya sighed heavily and closed her eyes for a moment. She could feel the life draining from her, slowly being replaced by something else. Opening her eyes, she turned to face the approaching group of zombies.

"You killed everyone in my town," she said, stepping forward. "You killed my boyfriend. And now you've killed me. I think it's only fair that I return the favor." Lifting her weapon, she emptied the gun of all but one of its bullets. The zombies she struck fell to the ground, trampled under the feet of others.

Anya looked back one last time, watching as the taillights of the car disappeared around a bend. She could almost sense Faith's eyes on her. Lifting the gun, she placed it against her temple. The zombies started to run towards her. "Xander," she sighed as she closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.

Faith turned to face the front of the car as they rounded a bend. "Where's Anya?" Willow asked.

"She got bitten," Buffy said, looking down at her hands.

"Are you happy now?" Willow said bitterly, looking at Faith.

"What?" Faith asked sharply, meeting the witch's eyes.

"I asked if you were happy now?" Willow repeated.

"Honey," Tara said carefully, trying to stop Willow from saying something that she would regret.

"You're asking me if I'm happy that Anya is as good as dead?" Faith asked incredulously.

"Yes," Willow replied firmly.

"Willow!" Buffy said angrily.

"Why are you defending her?" Willow shot back.

"How dare you ask me that," Faith growled.

"Faith," Buffy said warningly, sensing the dark haired Slayer's anger boiling over. Lunging forward quicker than Buffy could react, Faith grabbed Willow's arm, digging her fingernails into the witch's tender skin. Buffy leap forward, grabbing Faith by the shoulders and pulling her into the backseat. "Forget about her," Buffy whispered. "She doesn't know what she's talking about."

Faith struggled to release herself from the blonde Slayer's grasp, but Buffy would not let her go. Finally, Faith sagged under the older girl's strength. She felt something burning up in her chest and before she could stop it, she found herself sobbing in Buffy's arms. At first, Buffy did not know how to react to seeing the other girl so vulnerable. Faith had never let her in before, but Buffy was not about to throw away what would, perhaps, be her only chance to reconnect with her fellow Slayer. "It's okay," Buffy whispered, pulling Faith closer. Faith turned and rested against Buffy's chest, burying her face into the blonde Slayer's neck.

She had tried so hard to protect Anya and the others, but she had failed. The image of Anya's tearful eyes staring at her numbly filled her mind until she could see nothing else. "It's okay," she heard Buffy whispering over and over as the car careened through the streets of Sunnydale towards the Bronze. "She died a hero, Faith," Buffy said. "She was a hero. It was her choice."

"This is all my fault," Faith choked out.

"No, it's not," Buffy said softly. Hesitantly, she reached up and ran her hands gently through the younger girl's dark hair, tangling her fingers in the tresses. Faith's tears lessened, but her breath raged out of control. "You have to calm down," Buffy encouraged her.

"I can't," Faith shook her head, burying her face further into the blonde Slayer's neck. "I can't do this anymore."

"Do what?" Buffy asked curiously.

"Lose people," Faith answered softly.

"We're here," Riley announced as the car screeched to a halt.

"Come on," Buffy said, reluctantly releasing Faith from her grasp. Faith sat up and rubbed her eyes furiously, embarrassed and angry with herself for crying in front of the older girl. Willow looked back at them inquisitively, but followed Riley and Tara out of the car. The street in front of the Bronze was empty. Riley pounded on the door. "We have to go inside."

"I don't think that I can move," Faith shook her head.

"It's hard…losing people," Buffy acknowledged. "But you have to be strong."

"I'm so tired," Faith said, holding her face in her hands.

"I know," Buffy said, reaching over and embracing the other girl suddenly. "So am I." Softly, Buffy pressed her lips against Faith's forehead. Pulling away, she opened her car door and stepped out onto the street. Faith watched her for several long moments before doing the same. The cold night air hit her face, instantly drying her cheeks of her lingering tears. The nightly wailing of the zombies had begun. It chilled Faith to the bones. She wondered if Anya's voice was raised among them now. "Are you coming?" Buffy asked, looking back at her expectantly as Riley and the others filed into the Bronze. The soldier who opened the door seemed pleased to see Riley. "Come on," Buffy said, reaching out her hand towards Faith. Faith hesitatingly took a step forward and laced her fingers with the blonde Slayer's. "I'm right here with you."