Animatus II: The Descent:
Notes: Thanks for the reviews. Keep them coming! I'm going to be wrapping this story up shortly. Afterward, I'll start posting the third part of the Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow series.
Previously:
The stars shone above them brightly. A gentle breeze moved the tree branches. As they ran stealthily through the night, Faith looked up into the sky and smiled with hope. Glancing back at the shed, she thought she saw the glimmer of bleach blonde hair running through the night in the opposite direction. Though she did not like Spike, she was glad that he had found freedom. No one deserved to be imprisoned within the desecrated and bloodied walls of the Initiative.
Chapter Eighteen: The Whispers You Try to Ignore:
Faith felt like she was walking through the past as she entered the sporting goods store on Sunnydale's Main Street. The decomposing body of the zombie girl that she had shot still rested on the floor. For a brief moment, she felt as though the time that had past since she had first stepped into the store had been nothing but a nightmare and that she really was reliving all of her experiences again. But the warmth of Buffy's hand sliding into her own reminded her that Liz and Joyce were dead and that many days had past since the three women had escaped to the Bronze. "You okay?" Buffy whispered concernedly.
"Yeah," Faith sighed. "I just can't wait to blow this town."
"I know what you mean," Buffy agreed. Though she had made a home in Sunnydale, that home had been destroyed when her mother had died. She had found a new home in Faith.
The group collectively shuffled to the ladder leading to the roof. Ascending it, they spread out under the night sky, eager to sleep away the fatigue that had settled on their limbs and eager to see the rising of the new day's sun. They had ran through the darkness of the forest and back to the road that Buffy had walked several days before, anxious that the zombies that had been residing in the Initiative had followed them up the stairs and out into the world. At every turn, with every noise, their guns rose, their fear escalated, and their exhaustion mounted. Adrenaline had been the only thing flowing through their veins and they were crashing.
They had reached the sporting goods store with little disturbance. The zombies still roamed the streets of Sunnydale, moaning their discontent and hunger. But less of the living dead wandered through the town than had before and Faith wondered if they were not starting to succumb to starvation. The zombies that they had seen seemed more sluggish than Faith remembered. Their lean frames sunk into their bones and their arms hung heavily down at their sides. At times, they seemed to be tripping down the street rather than walking, propelled only by some instinctual desire to stay in motion. Faith had wondered how long it would take for the zombies to starve to death. Their only source of sustenance was human flesh, but the human population of Sunnydale had dwindled to zero, save the group of six resting under the night sky.
Faith sat with a sigh and placed her gun carefully on the roof next to her. Buffy was gathering some blankets for them across the roof. When Faith, Joyce, and Liz had left the roof, they had discarded their sleeping bags and most of their blankets, preferring to travel lightly. They still remained on the roof and were quickly divided amongst the group. Buffy returned with two blankets and busied herself stretching them out as Faith gazed up into the starlight sky. Her eyelids felt heavy as she stared into the heavens. She wondered if any of her friends were staring back down at her.
"You seem deep in thought," Buffy remarked, sitting down beside her lover.
"I guess I am," Faith mumbled.
"What's wrong?" Buffy asked, lightly touching the younger girl's hand.
Faith smiled crookedly and laced her fingers with the blonde Slayer's. "Nothing," she shook her head. "I just can't help thinking about all of the people we've lost."
"My mom," Buffy commented. "Xander."
"Anya, Liz, and Mark," Faith continued. "Not to mention half the people that lived in this town. Shit, maybe more than that."
"I feel guilty sometimes," Buffy admitted, "because I haven't let myself grieve for them. I mean, my mom died in front of me and I haven't even really cried about it. And Xander," she sighed, "he was like a brother to me."
"You haven't had time to grieve, B," Faith reminded her gently. "We've all been on the run."
"I know," Buffy acknowledged. "I still feel bad."
"I think your mom and Xander would just be happy that you're still alive," Faith replied, looking over at the older girl.
"What about you?" Buffy asked.
Faith sighed and glanced back up into the sky. "To be honest," she stated, "I miss Anya. I never thought I'd hear myself say that, but I do. She was a good friend. You know, ever since I woke up from my coma," she said, noticing how Buffy shifted uncomfortably, "I've been on the run. I haven't stopped. Not really. It feels weird to be so close to the end…like I can finally rest."
"Have I mentioned how sorry I am about that whole coma thing?" Buffy asked sheepishly.
"Have I mentioned how sorry I am for trying to kill you and all of your friends?" Faith asked dryly.
"I guess we're even, huh?" Buffy laughed.
"I think so," Faith nodded. "I just can't wait to get out of here. We need a serious vacation, B."
"No vampires, no demons," Buffy said wistfully.
"Most importantly," Faith added, "no zombies."
"Yeah," the blonde Slayer nodded enthusiastically. "If I never see a zombie again, it'll still be too soon."
Faith grinned and glanced back at Buffy. "I never thought that I'd be here with you, you know?" She asked thoughtfully. "I had dreamed about it. But I never thought it would actually happen."
"Faith," Buffy said seriously, cupping her girlfriend's cheek, "I love you. You know that, right?"
"I know," Faith said, leaning into Buffy's touch. The older girl leaned forward, capturing Faith's bottom lip and running her tongue across the sensitive skin, begging for entrance into her mouth. Faith parted her lips, her tongue meeting Buffy's in a passionate duel. When the kiss ended, Faith pressed her lips to Buffy's forehead and whispered, "I love you too, B."
"We should get some sleep," Buffy suggested. "Need to be up early tomorrow."
"Oh the day that I can sleep in," Faith grumbled. "I wish it would come sooner."
"I know what you mean," Buffy smiled, lying down on her blanket. The blonde Slayer closed her eyes, her breathing falling into the even rhythm of sleep almost instantaneously. Faith grinned and shook her head, glancing back up into the sky. Though she was tired, she felt the need to watch over Buffy as she slept. She had spent much of her time on the roof protecting Joyce and Liz. Though she knew that Buffy could take care of herself, she could not bring herself to close her eyes. She surveyed the rest of the group. Diego and Jay were asleep near the ladder that led up to the roof, their guns cradled in their arms. Faith smiled, knowing that they had positioned themselves there purposefully in case any zombies tried to enter.
Kate and Paul were asleep next to each other, a few feet away from the sleeping soldiers, lying atop the sleeping bags. Faith sighed and laid down on her blanket, her hands behind her head. The moon was bursting above her, its yellow light casting a glow down on the roof. For a moment, she forgot entirely about the zombies moaning on the street below her and the horrors that she had seen while in the Initiative. The cool, night air caressed her face, wrapping her in its comforting embrace as she lay next to her lover. The stars twinkled with hope and Faith found herself smiling at the thought that in a short time she would be joining the rest of her friends in Los Angeles. She wondered what Giles, Tara, and Willow had been doing while she had been scouring the Initiative for the anti-virus.
Though Faith's relationship with Willow had been rocky after their reunion in the college dorms, Willow had accepted Faith as time wore on and the dark haired Slayer had proven herself. After Buffy's death, she and the witch had bonded over their mutual grief. She wondered how Giles was dealing with working with Angel. She knew that the two men had a history of violence and anger, but she knew from personal experience that Giles was a forgiving person. But she still had a hard time imagining the Watcher working side by side with a vampire. She had to admit that the thought of working with Angel, though intriguing, weighed heavily on her. She knew that Angel was doing good down in Los Angeles by helping the helpless and she wanted to be a part of that. But she could not help but wonder what would happen reuniting Buffy with her former love. Though she trusted the blonde Slayer, she did not want to stir up any unresolved feelings. Further, she had never liked Angel and the thought of working with a vampire seemed to go against everything in her as a Slayer.
However, she had trusted Spike and the rest of the chipped vampires down in the depths of the Initiative. Despite her misgivings, the vampires had lived up to their word and so had Spike. Sighing, she tried to drive all thoughts of Angel out of her mind, but she knew that if Willow, Tara, and Giles were happy in Los Angeles, she and Buffy would be staying there as well. Looking over at her sleeping girlfriend, she smiled slightly. She knew that she had to stop listening to the nagging doubts that lingered in her mind. They had gotten her into trouble before; she had doubted her friendship with Buffy, she had doubted herself, and she had ended up working for a demon. She realized that she needed to start accepting the things that she knew to be real and ignoring the whisperings in the back of her mind. She knew that Buffy loved her and, whatever happened after their escape from Sunnydale, she knew that Buffy would still love her.
Despite her desire to remain awake, she found her eyelids dropping. She struggled for a few minutes to remain in control of her consciousness, but eventually she succumbed to sleep. She greeted the oblivion warmly. Her fatigued muscles and exhausted mind relished the darkness. The darkness morphed into images that crashed through Faith's consciousness, finally taking shape. She dreamed that she was lying on the roof of the sporting goods store. The sun had just risen over the horizon in an amazing display of red and orange. Slowly awakening from a deep sleep, she stretched, and sat up. Before her mind her cleared, she noticed that something was wrong. Though Sunnydale had become eerily quiet since the zombie invasion, Faith could not hear anything except the rustling of the leaves as the breeze blew through the tree branches.
Glancing around, she realized in a moment of complete panic that was alone on the roof. Quickly rising to her feet, she whirled around, surveying her surroundings. She could not see any trace of the others. It was almost as if they had not been there in the first place. "Buffy?" She called nervously. "Buffy, where are you?" She yelled. Silence greeted her ears. Her heart pounded in her chest, threatening to break free. "Diego?" She called. "Jay? Kate? Paul?" No one answered her. Running over to the ledge, she peered below, but the streets were empty. "Hello?" She shouted. "Is anyone there?" Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she called out for the others, only to be surrounded by silence and a loneliness that she had not felt since she had awoken from her coma and into a nightmare. "Buffy?" She whispered tearfully. "Where did you go?" She was alone and she was scared.
As the sun began to creep over the horizon, Faith's eyes fluttered open. Blinking away sleep, she stretched and sat up. She glanced over at Buffy's blanket, but noticed that the older girl was no longer lying in it. Panic flared in her heart as she remembered her dream and she lifted her eyes to search the roof, relieved when she saw Buffy standing a few feet away, laughing with Diego and Jay. "Shit," she muttered, laughing at her pounding heart. Buffy looked over at her, cocking her head to the side with a concerned look on her face, but Faith waved away her girlfriend's anxiety. "I'm okay," she mouthed and Buffy smiled.
Rising to her feet, she grabbed her gun and slung it on her shoulder by its tattered strap. "Morning," Jay greeted Faith as she walked over to them.
"Hey," Faith replied, noticing that Kate and Paul were just starting to wake up as well. "Glad I didn't oversleep the party."
"I don't know about the rest of you," Jay said, "but I can't wait to get out of here."
"We still have to be careful," Diego warned. "No use getting ourselves killed this close to home."
"I agree," Buffy said. "We have to go about this sensibly. We have to stay on guard. The zombies may be slowing down," she noted, "but they're still formidable opponents, especially when they realize that we're their only food left."
"We need to stay out of sight," Jay concluded. Kate and Paul joined them, both looking refreshed from the night of undisturbed sleep. As Faith looked around at each person gathered before her, she noted that they all looked exceedingly better now that they had escaped from the Initiative.
"Well," Faith said once everyone was ready. "Let's get this show on the road."