Chapter Seven: Welcome to Sunnydale

Silence was never more appreciated. The past month and a half had been a whirlwind of trauma for Joy. So much had happened that she had never dreamed possible even in her worst nightmares and now she was just barely suffering through the aftermath.

"Spend all your time waiting
for that second chance
for a break that would make it okay
there's always one reason
to feel not good enough
and it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
oh beautiful release
memory seeps from my veins
let me be empty
and weightless and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight..."

Sarah McLaughlin crooned from the CD player as Joy buried her head in her pillows, crying out all of her pain and frustrations. Since that tragic night, in November Joy had experienced no peace and hardly any time for remorse. Tonight, thankfully, she finally had the down time she so badly needed in order to recuperate. For so long she had been unable to cry but now it seemed all she could do. She had never known such pain. Tears clouded her eyes and she couldn't help but cry.

"...in the arms of an angel
fly away from here
from this dark cold hotel room
and the endlessness that you fear
you are pulled from the wreckage
of your silent reverie
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort there...

Joy was interrupted by the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. Glancing at the digital clock on her bedside table, she knew that it was her Aunt and Uncle returning home. Rolling off her bed, Joy rushed down the hallway to the bathroom to wash her face before her new 'parents' found her blubbering.

"Get your ass down here!" Joy heard her uncle bellowing from the base of the stairs.

She frowned and shut off the faucet in the bathroom. She hurried down the hall and stopped at the top of the steps.

When her uncle saw her he yelled again. "Did you think you could get away with it, you little bitch?"

"What's up, Uncle Dale?" She asked as innocently as she could, which actually wasn't very hard since she honestly had no idea why he was pissed...this time.

"I just got a call from your principal," Her uncle's voice was not getting any quieter or calmer.

"So?" Joy started down the stairs, slowly and uncertainly. Even though she knew why the principal of her new school had called her uncle, she wasn't sure yet how her uncle would respond. But, by his loudness, she was certain that he would be angry.

"He said you haven't even come to school yet!" Joy's aunt now joined the conversation with the same loudness as her husband, except in a higher and scratchier voice. Joy didn't answer. She also stopped descending the stairs. At this point she had decided that staying a good distance from her enraged relatives would be a good choice.

"I want an explanation!" Dale's voice boomed and he folded his arms threateningly across his chest, "Now!"

Joy shrugged, "What do you want me to say?"

"You've missed over two weeks of school, bitch, so don't go mouthing off at me!" Dale started climbing the steps towards his niece and she nervously started backing up the stairs away from him. She really felt that his excessive use of profanities was unecessary. "Now, under any other circumstances I wouldn't give a shit about your life, but as your legal guardians we have a responsibility to make you get an education. That means that you go to school!"

"Look, I've missed a few days, big deal." Joy reached the top step but tripped as she stepped backwards onto the second floor landing and stumbled, catching herself on the wall behind her back. "School's not exactly my priority right now."

"Not your priority?" He nearly screamed. "That's not your decision!"

"Uncle Dale," She wasn't sure what to say to make her inevitable punishment less severe then it would be. "I'm not ready for a new school, yet."

"Like hell you aren't!" Dale reached for her and managed to grab hold of Joy's leg and with one hard tug she was on her back, grunting in unexpected pain.

"Dammit," Joy gasped as he held onto her ankle and yanked hard, pulling her down the steps until she was on his level. "Uncle Dale, come on, it was just a few days and I can make up what I've missed!" His hand connected with her face and she realized that he wasn't in the mood to listen to her pleas and promises. A second fierce blow knocked her off of her balance and sent her tumbling down the steep flight of stairs. Half sliding and half tumbling, Joy bumped and banged against the steps feeling her skin melt into instant bruises. When she finally landed at the bottom of the stairs, she couldn't move for almost a full minute from the pain. Tears formed involuntarily and she tried blinking to clear them away.

"That'll teach you to ignore my orders," Dale continued up the steps, disregarding the young girl in a painful heap on the floor.

"Aunt Joanne," Joy glanced up at her aunt whose stone-cold expression almost matched her uncle's stone-cold heart.

"You're pathetic," Joanne scowled at her niece and then turned away, leaving the girl all alone.

Joy shut her eyes tight as though blocking out her surroundings would somehow help to block out her pain. For a while she kept her position on the floor but eventually she pulled herself up, using the banister for assistance, and began the slow trudge up the stairs to her room where she dropped onto her bed in irritable exhaustion. I can tell I'm going to love this new home. Joy sighed deeply and snuggled up under her blankets before drifting off into a fitful sleep.

A high-pitched scream was followed by a frantic sound of fighting. However, it didn't sound like an even battle, it sounded more like one side was a struggle and the other was a conquer. Soon there was only silence. Moments later, a mysterious shadow slid across the nearby gravestone. As the shadow moved past the trees its owner was revealed. The wrinkled forehead and pointy teeth were just barely visible in the light from the crescent moon. The monster began to emerge from the trees' protection when a girl leapt out from behind a crypt and issued a furious attack on the creature. Her skill was impeccable and within ten minutes she had driven a wooden stake into the beast's chest and he was no more than a pile of dust. The girl's breathing was heavy but felt in no way unusual. Glancing around the graveyard for any other signs of danger, the girl stood and lifted her head in careless success. The moon's light illuminated her face...

"Oh my god," Joy sat up in bed with a start. "What the hell was that?" She had never had such a vivid dream, except for the time that she had dreamt about Henri being a vampire. But this was very strange. She couldn't understand why so many of her dreams lately were revolving around the undead. And now, why she was fighting them in her dreams!