Animatus

Notes: Thanks for the reviews. Sorry these updates are taking longer than usual to get out, but I've been incredibly busy. Keep the reviews coming!

Previously:

With another quick kiss, the Slayers parted, each moving to their respective vans. Faith boarded, watching as Buffy disappeared into her van. The engines roared as Jay opened the loading bay doors, flashed Faith a wave, and jumped into the van behind Buffy. She smiled, knowing that the soldier would take care of her girl when she could not. The first van rambled out of the Bronze, followed by the second. Faith took her seat next to Giles, smiling as the sun struck her face when the van crept out of the club. The road ahead was lined with abandoned cars. "The highway is seven miles away," Giles stated. "This may be the longest seven miles of our lives."

Faith smiled grimly, "I think you're right."

Chapter Twenty-Six: Seven Mile Run:

Faith limped up to the gates which guarded her house and quickly opened them before any of the neighbors could catch a glimpse of her. Her Watcher was dead. Kakistos had killed the older woman and, if his threats were any indication, he clearly intended to kill her when the sun failed. The dark haired Slayer was exhausted, mentally and physically, and the image of Kate's dying face flashed through her mind on a perpetual loop. Part of her realized that she could not have stopped Kakistos from capturing and killing her Watcher, even if she had been home at the time of his attack. She would have been taken by the ancient vampire and his minions and killed in a similar fashion. However, another part of her insisted that her Watcher's death lay solely upon her shoulders. If she had been a better Slayer – the Slayer that Kate had hoped that she would become – she would have been able to save her Watcher from such a grisly fate. But Faith had failed.

She wondered if she was deserving of the title Slayer anymore, or if her failure had negated any special place that she had claimed in the world. Shuffling up the sidewalk, she opened the front door. She glanced down at the blood staining the carpet in front of the door. Its rotten, coppery smell invaded her nostrils and she resisted the urge to vomit. All that remained of her mentor was a little puddle on the ground. Stepping over it, Faith closed the door behind her. The house seemed large and empty now that she was alone. The wooden floors were cold and the sunlight streaming in through the windows did little to warm her bones. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around herself, mindful of her broken ribs, and stood in the empty foyer listening to the silence. Tears began to course down her face. At first, she did not notice them. Not until they ran off of her cheeks and splashed down onto her arms did she realize that she was crying.

When she did, the sobs tore out of her body almost painfully. Falling to her knees, she covered her face with her hands and cried. She had not cried as hard, or as intensely, since the day that her girlfriend had been shot and killed by a robber on the street. The tears ceased to flow, but the pain did not diminish from her heart. She knew, in that moment, that she could not stay in the house that she had shared with Kate. Every book in the library would remind her of the older woman. All of the mugs in the cupboard in the kitchen would remind her of Kate's ritual morning tea. She had to leave the house as quickly as possible. But she did not know where to go. The thought occurred to her that she was no longer safe in Boston.

Kakistos certainly would come to the mansion that night to try to find her. Even if she had left by then, he would continue his search of the city until he found her. Faith knew that she could not hide from him, no matter how hard she tried. But if she could not hide, perhaps she could run. Rising shakily to her feet, she quickly ascended the stairs and entered her bedroom. She had to leave the city. Grabbing a duffel bag from the top of her closet – the same bag in which she had carried all of her worldly possessions when she had left her mother's apartment – she placed it on her bed. She shoved as many clothes into it as she could and zipped it closed. Slinging it over her shoulder, she looked around room one last time and exited, closing the door behind her.

Next, she moved to another closed door on the hallway – the room in which her Watcher had slept. Carefully opening the door, she peered inside. The sunlight bathed the room in a golden glow that would have warmed Faith's heart on any other day, but on that day, it simply reminded her of the woman that she would never see again. Moving into the room, she pulled out one of the drawers in the bureau and grabbed an envelope of money that Kate insisted on keeping around the house. Faith was grateful that she did. The easiest and quickest way for Faith to leave Boston was by bus and, counting the money inside of the envelope, she knew that she would have enough for her fare. However, she had yet to pick a destination.

She thought for a moment before she realized where she would go. Kate had told her about the other Slayer, a girl named Buffy who lived in Sunnydale, California. Though Faith had never met the other girl, she somehow knew that she and Buffy were connected. Shoving the money into her pocket, she exited the room, and gently closed the door behind her. Then she descended the stairs. Moving into training room, she stuffed as many stakes as she could into the side compartments of her bag. When she had finished packing, she moved over to the front door. Setting her keys down on the table, as she would no longer need them, she opened the door and stepped outside. Turning, she looked into the house, whispered her silent goodbyes in her mind, and closed the door.

……………………………..

"This is ridiculous," Giles muttered. Faith sat beside him, glancing worriedly out of the window. The sun was advancing too quickly through the sky for her tastes. They had found it quite difficult to maneuver through the maze of cars littering the streets of Sunnydale. The van in which Faith rode was behind the first van. Faith felt sorry for Joyce, who was having the most difficult time in picking a path for them. Giles simply followed where she went, but often their path was interrupted by a vehicle which they could not circumvent. Many times, she resorted to driving in the grassy medians, though many of the cars had pulled off of the main road and were blocking that path. The vans bounced and lurched their way through Sunnydale.

After a painfully long drive, they finally escaped the commercial district and entered the residential zones. These also were densely packed, but the trees lining the roads prevented them from avoiding the cars by driving on the sidewalks. "I've been told that patience in a virtue," Faith said calmly, though Giles knew that she was panicking. Faith had the essential quality of most leaders of knowing when to remain calm in the presence of others. The band of survivors riding in their van littered the back and were all staring nervously through the front window, depending on Faith to remain strong for them.

"Whoever said that was a bloody moron," Giles retorted, snorting slightly, and pushing his glasses into place.

"Buffy said you drove slowly," Faith joked. "I just didn't know how slowly."

"Believe me, if there was ever a time when I would chose to ridiculously speed, this would be it," Giles replied.

"I c-can't see you speeding, Giles," Tara said, joining the conversation.

"It goes against the whole image that we have of you," Willow seconded.

Faith smiled, happy to see that in the face of complete hopelessness, people were still able to find something about which to laugh. "Apparently, you have a reputation," she said, looking over at the Watcher, who was also smiling.

"Apparently," he agreed. "You're worried about her, aren't you?" He asked lowly so that only Faith could hear.

"Buffy?" The dark haired Slayer asked. Giles simply nodded. "Of course I am."

"She'll be alright," Giles insisted.

"I'm not good at this," Faith grumbled.

"At what?" Giles asked amusedly. Faith had never been open about her emotions with him or any of the others, when they had been on speaking terms. However, since her awakening, Faith had seemed to discover herself amid all of the chaos and she no longer seemed concerned about what others thought of her.

"Loving someone," Faith replied softly. "I never have been."

Giles glanced over at her with an arched eyebrow, but looked away before she noticed. "Loving someone isn't easy," he said gently. "It's always a struggle. Of course, it doesn't help when circumstances around you are so skewed."

"Something tells me that even without zombies, Buffy and I would never have it easy," Faith smiled crookedly. "We were born to struggle."

"Because you're vampire Slayers," Giles nodded.

"Because we live in a different world than everyone else," Faith whispered. "I'm not the easiest person to love, either," she added in a louder voice.

"Buffy isn't one to back away from a challenge," Giles smiled.

Faith nodded, but did not reply. Casting her gaze out of the window, she watched the world crawl by. "There's gotta be a better way," she murmured.

"There is," Giles said, hearing her words.

"What's that?" She asked.

"We're in armored vans. Theoretically, we could just push our way through the cars," he suggested. "But, that's not to say that our vehicles would not sustain any damage."

"But," Faith prodded.

"But if we continue at the rate we're going, we're not going to reach the highway by nightfall."

"Stop the van," Faith commanded. Giles acquiesced and the van slowed to a halt. The van in front of them stopped as well and Faith hopped out of the vehicle. Approaching the other van, she nodded at Joyce when the older woman rolled down the window.

"What's up?" Joyce asked.

"This is taking too long," Faith stated. "It's not your fault," she quickly added, "it would take too long regardless of who was driving. There are too many cars in the road."

"What do you want to do?" Buffy asked, leaning across her mother to see Faith.

"Start ramming them out of the way," Faith said. "Giles thought that was the best idea."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Buffy asked, frowning.

Faith nodded. "It is," she affirmed. "So be careful," she said, turning to Joyce.

"Always am," Joyce smiled. Faith nodded and walked away as Joyce rolled up the window again and proceeded.

Hopping into her seat next to Giles, Faith closed the passenger side door. The van lurched to life and rolled forward. They watched as Joyce pressed down the accelerator and began ramming the cars out of their way. The sound of screeching metal filled Faith's ears and she grimaced. However, they were able to gain more speed and the road began to roll past them at a decent rate. The leading van, however, was covered in a shower of sparks. The front end crumpled beneath the pressure of hitting into car after car. Faith watched anxiously. Their van was able to slip through the path the first van made without impacting any other vehicle.

"We don't have too much farther," Giles said suddenly. "I can see the sign for the highway just ahead. The cars seem to taper off."

"We're almost there," Faith said, turning in her seat to look back at the people behind her. As she did, she heard a wailing noise from in front of them and a crash. Giles cursed under his breath and quickly slammed on the brakes. The van screeched to a halt. Faith turned back around in time to see the van in front of them skid out of control and topple onto its side. "Shit," she exclaimed. "What happened?"

"It got stuck on one of the cars," Giles said. "I think."

"You think?" Faith asked.

"It happened quite quickly," Giles said defensively.

"Guys?" Willow asked anxiously.

"What?" Faith asked, looking back at her as she opened her door.

"It's on fire," Willow pointed.

Faith followed her fingers, a sense of dread filling her limbs, and saw the red glow of flames licking the front of the van. "Stay here," she instructed, scrambling out of the vehicle. As soon as her feet hit the road, she was running.

She could smell the smoke of the fire, but she could smell something even worse lingering in the air – gasoline. When she reached the van, she slowed, her feet slipping on the greasy liquid pouring out of its underbelly. The sound of breaking glass filled her ears and she looked up to see someone trying to climb out of the window facing the sky. The van was lying on its side, the wheels were still spinning, and the fire was advancing. Jay's head popped out of the window and he pulled himself through. "Are you okay?" Faith asked, looking up at him with relief.

"I'm fine," he replied. A cut adorned his face and his hands were lacerated from punching through the window, but he would live.

"What about everyone else?" Faith asked.

"Not so good," Jay shook his head. "We weren't going very fast, but we hit the ground hard. What's that smell?"

"Gas," Faith acknowledged.

"Shit," Jay said, noticing the fire.

"Can you get anyone out?" Faith asked.

"We don't have time," Jay said. "We have to get away from the van."

"What're you talking about?" Faith questioned.

"That fire's too close. This thing is going to explode," Jay explained as he scrambled out of the window and let himself fall down the side of the van.

"Faith!" The dark haired Slayer heard a voice call. Turning, she saw Buffy trying to squeeze her way through the upturned passenger window.

"Faith," Jay said warningly.

"I'm not leaving her," Faith stated. She ran towards Buffy, skidding to a halt.

"I think I'm stuck," Buffy said. "I couldn't open the door."

"Give me your hands," Faith instructed. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the fire burning closer and brighter. It had almost reached the engine. Buffy slipped her hands into Faith's. The younger girl pulled, inching Buffy out of the window. Finally, Buffy broke free and they both toppled to the ground. "What about your mother?" Faith asked. However, before Buffy could reply, Jay had grabbed them both, pulled them to their feet, and pushed them away from the van.

"What're you doing?" Buffy asked in alarm, but his answer was cut short when a loud explosion ripped through the air. The van lifted off of the ground several feet and then crashed back down into the road. The blast propelled them forward, into the grass, and pieces of flaming debris rained around them.

"Fuck!" Faith yelled as a piece of scorching metal fell onto her back. Rolling, she grabbed Buffy, pulled the older girl to her feet, and dragged her back to where the first van was waiting. Jay followed them, stumbling through the smoke that blanketed the sky.

Buffy grabbed onto the sides of the remaining van and pulled herself inside. Throwing a look at the burning wreckage that had been their other vehicle, she allowed a tear to slip from her eye. "Mom," she whispered. No sooner had she uttered the word than Faith's arms were wrapped around her, holding her close as she cried into the other Slayer's chest. Jay took the seat that Faith had been occupying as Faith and Buffy slid to the ground in the back next to Willow and Tara.

"Keep driving," Jay stated.

"What about," Giles began.

"There's no one left," Jay interrupted. "We can't waste anymore time."

Giles nodded and maneuvered his way carefully around the burning van. As they past, he could hear the screams of those still trapped inside, and still alive, burning. Jay glanced up into the rearview mirror, his jaw setting grimly when he noticed something. "What is it?" Giles asked, his voice tainted with dread.

"We're being followed," Jay said slowly.

"By who?" Faith asked, glancing up at him.

"Zombies. A lot of zombies."