A Slayer In London

Buffy left her Mom's room well before dawn. Not wanting to be caught by any of the hospital staff, she took the back stairs and left the hospital by one of the rear service exits.

Out on the dark streets, a misty haze hung low on the ground. Occasionally, she would see figures making their way to or from work, then she'd step to one side and allow the shadows to hide her. Each time they passed by without looking in her direction, she had let out a sigh of relief. Most people seemed to be in a hurry, but there was always the chance someone would stop and ask why she was roaming the streets at that time of night. Buffy decided that if that happened, she would run, even if it was only an innocent enquiry.

Buffy left the main streets behind and entered a quieter neighbourhood. Small workshops were dotted amongst the rows of terraced housing and the occasional storage yard that serviced the nearby railway yard. She cut through an alleyway between two warehouses and was partway down when an odd tingle of awareness hit her. The feeling was so strong that she came to a stop. Buffy scanned the windows of the buildings around her. Was she being watched? If someone was in one of those buildings she couldn't see them. She sniffed the air. The smell of engine grease, diesel, and decaying vegetation came to her. What was she looking for? She didn't know, but there was a definite feeling of 'wrongness' in the air, it was as if something bad was about to happen.

That's when the screaming started.

Her heart already hammering in her chest, Buffy set off running. Not in the opposite direction to the screamer but towards it. It came from the next street. Someone was in trouble.

By the time she had reached the end of the alley, the screaming had ended. However, that sixth sense of hers kept her running. It sent her into a bombed-out street. Broken-down buildings with jagged edges stood in sharp relief the moonlight. Pumping her arms, Buffy ran past them, heading towards the end of the street to where a row of pointed, wooden sleepers marked the railway line. When the hairs on the back of her neck rose, she slowed her pace, looking at the buildings around her.

A single-storey building stood to her left. Its door hung on broken hinges, the two windows overlooking the street covered in boards, its interior in darkness. The hairs on Buffy's neck stirred as she crept closer to the doorway. What was in there? The person who'd screamed? Or their attacker?

From inside the building, she heard scuffling as if someone had been pushed, and then a man shouted, "Stupify!"

Without hesitating, Buffy climbed over the broken door, passing through the first room and on to the next. The rear wall was missing. Before she realised what she'd done, Buffy had climbed over the rubble and dropped down into a cobbled square.

Her first thought was that if she ever did something as crazy as this again, she'd make sure to look before she leaped. Her second thought was that she might die here. The body of a woman lay on the ground and crouched over her was a robed figure. Aware of her arrival, it rose silently to its feet and turned to evaluate the newcomer.

Whatever this thing was, it wasn't human. Moonlight shone down on the creature, setting the protruding facial ridges in sharp relief. Its glowing, yellow eyes watched from under a shadowed brow, and it opened its mouth to hiss with annoyance, showing off elongated upper fangs. It was a face from one of her nightmares.

Buffy knew that the sensible thing to do beat a hasty retreat and find someone else to deal with this. She also knew she'd need to run a long way before she met someone and that she couldn't leave a defenceless woman alone with the monster. Whatever vile thing she'd stopped it from doing, it would continue doing as soon as she left. Running away was not an option. Could she scare it off?

Inside her mind, a switch flicked as memories kicked in. 'It's a vampire. You need either a cross, sunlight, holy water, or a sharp stake to fight it.'

Yeah, she was all out of those at the moment. If only she'd realised, she would have packed a bag special. Maybe, she should scream – hysterically - instead?

What actually came out her mouth was, "Hey, Fang-face!"

Buffy winced. Had she really said that? The creature watched her, mute and unmoving. Buffy thought it was probably wondering why she wasn't running down the street, screaming in terror. She was kind of wondering the same thing herself. Why wasn't she screaming in terror? And why was she feeling so excited about meeting a monster in the middle of the night? No sane person should be happy about that. It said rather a lot about her sanity these days.

"So demon, am I interrupting something?" She walked forward, keeping most of her attention on the creature yet scanning the surrounding area for escape routes (a small alleyway at 3 o'clock) and possible weapons (broken bricks and handy sharp wooden sticks all readily available on the ground). "I've gotta say... Is this the best undead life can offer? Scavenging in bombed out buildings and attacking people? No fun parties or drinks at a nice club?"

The mention of drinks brought the vampire to life. He tilted his head, his face curious. "What are you?"

"Just a girl," replied Buffy thinking it was an odd question.

"I can see that, despite your horrendous clothing." It had begun to circle around her, which suited Buffy just fine as that meant she could step away from it and check the woman lying on the ground was still alive. Of course, the vampire was most likely blocking the route she'd come through so she couldn't escape. Since she had already spotted at least two ways out of here, Buffy didn't mind.

"Less of the rude comments about my clothes!" She didn't think she looked that bad dressed as a boy. "What have you come as anyway? Batman down on his luck?"

The vampire stopped almost level with the broken wall she'd entered by. "Why aren't you scared of me?" it asked.

"Should I be scared, Grave-breath?" Buffy replied."What you gonna do? Breathe on me?" She'd backed up to the place the woman lay. She scanned her quickly looking for injuries. She couldn't see any. The woman wore a rabbit fur coat that looked as if it had seen better days, a low-cut print dress and there was a strong smell of alcohol coming from her. If she hadn't been in the vampire's company, Buffy would have assumed she'd passed out, drunk.

"You should be scared, I'm a vampire," the creature leered, showing off his teeth. "And despite the insults, I find you much more attractive than," it pointed at the unconscious woman, "her. Come, step into my arms and I-."

Without warning, Buffy sprang forward, kicking out at the vampire's chest. The blow knocked him off his feet and sent him flying into the wall behind him, Buffy following.

"Sorry. I don't date vampires," she quipped, throwing a punch at his face.

There was a sickening snap as the vampire's head jerked back and struck the wall. For a moment, Buffy thought she'd broken his neck or at least knocked him unconscious, but the fight was far from over. With a roar of pain, the vampire shook himself and blocked her next strike.

"Are you part troll?!" he yelled. His hand closed painfully around her wrist, twisting and forcing her down onto her knees.

"Troll? No way am I being called a troll again!" Buffy snapped.

The vampire was forcing her back, trying to get her on the ground and trap her beneath him. Every cell in her body screamed danger, yet she still wasn't afraid. Despite the pain, despite her danger, she felt more alive than she'd done for a long time. She wasn't going to give in, she'd fight until the last breath left her body. As he pushed her backwards, her free hand felt along the ground next to her, seeking something to use as a weapon.

Dark mesmeric eyes bore into her own. "Are you a Slayer?" He quickly shook his head. "No. You can't be. Slayers are long gone from this world." He'd pushed her onto the ground and a lazy smile slowly broke on his face, which didn't improve his looks. Increasing the pressure on her wrist until she let out an involuntary whimper, he leaned in, fangs glinting cruelly in the moonlight. "Whatever you are... girl, your blood will taste div-. Ummph!"

Buffy had brought her fist around to hit the creature directly in his mouth. He pushed away from her, both hands over his mouth. "You've broken my teeth!"

Buffy flipped to her feet. She taunted him by waving the rock she'd hit him with in front of her. "You should thank me. It's a big improvement on your looks. You can always check the mirror... Oops, no you can't. You'll need to take my word for it."

The woman behind her let out a loud snore. Buffy wondered how she was going to get them both out of here. The vampire wanted to kill her. He showed no sign or running off. 'Stake him, stake him, stake him,' part of her mind chanted, 'Stake him through the heart.' Buffy had a flutter of doubt. She wasn't a killer. They hung murderers in 1942.

"You've tried my patience, little girl. It's been... an experience, but your time is over." The vampire reached inside his cloak.

'He's already dead,' the inner voice whispered urgently. 'You're just finishing the job. If you don't do this he'll kill you, kill the woman, and kill more and more people. Slay him now.'

The vampire was withdrawing something from his cloak. The part of Buffy that knew all about violence and death told her it was a weapon. A gun? Buffy didn't waste time thinking, she acted. She lashed out with a sweeping side kick hitting his arm. The weapon bounced out of his hand and tumbled to the ground.

The vampire thrust out his hand shouting, "Accio wand!"

With lightning reflexes, Buffy's hand snatched the wooden weapon from midair and slammed it directly into the vampire's heart.

The vampire's eyes widened, he took a single step forward before exploding in a whirlwind of dust that fell to the ground with a soft hiss. Buffy coughed, and then waved a hand into the place where the vampire had just been. Had that really happened? Had she just 'dusted' a vampire?

"He even brought his own stake with him," she said in wonder. That was strange. But then everything about the encounter had been strange from the start. How had she sensed him? How had she known how to fight? She couldn't remember ever fighting like that before, except in her nightmares.

He'd called her a Slayer.

Buffy lost her focus as memories came to her. She was in the school library. The librarian, a middle-aged man wearing glasses, came towards her with a book in his hand. "Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer." He placed the book down onto the table in front of her, the title – Vampyr - clearly visible, and said, "There you go, Buffy."

Buffy swayed and almost overbalanced. No! Those memories were wrong. She wasn't a slayer. There was no watcher here teaching her how to fight and explaining what she needed to do. Those were false memories, like the ones she had of finding her Mom dead on the couch and throwing herself off a tower to save her sister. False memories, thrown up by her overactive imagination. Yes, that's what they were. The doctor had warned her not to try too hard. She was not the Chosen One, she was plain Buffy Summers and nothing more.

Then why are you so strong? Why do you heal fast? Even the vampire recognised what you are.

"Ere! What's 'appened? Where am I?"

Buffy jumped like a scared cat. Almost falling over her own feet, she turned to find the unconscious woman sitting up, rubbing at her head and scowling.

"I dreamt I met a lovely man-," she broke off and gave Buffy a suspicious look before sticking her hands into her pockets to check her money. "Oh, I thought you might 'ave picked me pocket."

"I didn't see any man," Buffy replied. She pushed the pile of dust around with the toe of her boot to disperse it. "I head someone moaning and found you in here – unconscious."

The woman pulled the fur tippet around her and gave Buffy a sheepish look. "Must 'ave imagined him. I 'ad a bit too much stout." Without a word of thanks, she climbed to her feet, pushed past Buffy, and staggered out of the building.

Buffy followed, watching her wobble off up the road. Should she follow her home in case she ran into more trouble? It was getting late though. Already she could see the first streaks of light touching the sky, and she knew that if she didn't hurry back, someone at the orphanage might find her missing.

When she arrived back at the orphanage, Buffy jumped the surrounding wall without a problem. She tried not to think what that meant. There were too many things she had to deal with right now, wondering if she was a slayer was not top of the list.

At the kitchen door, she took hold of the handle and pushed. The door wouldn't budge. She tried again, trying not to panic. It was definitely locked. Had Mrs Cole or Martha found her missing and locked her out to teach her a lesson? She reasoned they wouldn't do that. If they knew she'd gone out by the back way, they'd leave the door unlocked and then pounce on her when she returned.

What if Martha had come down in the middle of the night to make a bottle for the baby and found it unbolted? She wouldn't have left it like that, she'd have locked it.

Buffy looked over at the outbuildings that lay at the back of the building. She could wait inside one of those, and when someone opened the door in the morning, she could sneak back in when their back was turned.

Or maybe... Buffy had a better idea.

Scooping up a handful of small stones from the pathway, Buffy walked back until she had a good view of the upstairs windows. Tom's bedroom was on the top floor. Which one was it? She scanned the row of windows before plumping for the one to the left of the drainpipe.

The first stone she threw rattled against the brickwork beneath the window ledge. Her next throw was more accurate. The stone skittering across the glass and so did her third. Buffy was just about to throw another stone when the curtains moved, Tom's frowning face appearing between the curtains. Buffy waved and pointed towards the backdoor. Tom shrugged and closed the curtains.

The next stone Buffy threw hit the window with a lot more force.

The curtains were ripped to one side and Tom's handsome face glared down at her. Buffy smiled, waved, and jerked her thumb towards the kitchen door. This time he made sure to nod before leaving the window and, satisfied he hadn't gone back to bed, Buffy went to wait by the kitchen door.

After what felt like ages, she heard the sound of bolts being drawn quietly back and the key turned in the lock. The door swung open, and Buffy was greeted by the charming sight of a scowling Riddle dressed in green pyjamas.

"I like the snake badge," she whispered, with a nod at his Slytherin badge before slipping past him into the dark kitchen.

"I hope he was worth it," Tom growled, giving her a very dark look before shutting the door and bolting it.

The memory of the fight and the vampire's face flashed in front of her mind. "Huh?"

Tom came to stand in front of her, folding his arms."There is no such word as 'huh'."

"There is, I've just used it," she pointed out. Tom's jaw moved, obviously dying to reprimand her again for massacring the English language. Buffy decided he was being so grouchy because she'd woken him up. Since she might need him again in the future, Buffy used her dazzling smile on him. "Thanks for helping me. If you hadn't opened the door I'd have been spending the night with the rabbits."

But it seemed that once Tom got an idea in his head, he didn't like letting go of it."Who is he? Is he that awful boy who delivers for the grocer and flirts with you?"

Buffy felt insulted. The grocer's boy had orange hair that stuck up in different directions, a protruding Adam's apple and a bad squint that kept him out the army. She'd only spoken to him once and hadn't realised that Tom had been watching them. "He isn't my type. If you must know, I've been to see my Mom at the hospital. They won't allow me to visit her so I have to sneak in."

"By yourself?" he asked in disbelief. "You went there on your own?

Buffy nodded. "Uh-huh."

Tom unfolded his arms and his jaw relaxed. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Is she well?"

"She's fine," Buffy lied. She wasn't ready to admit to anyone how worried she was about her Mom.

Knowing she needed to change the subject or else fall apart in front of him, she teasingly asked, "Are you jealous?"

His arched, dark brows drew together in confusion as they both turned for the hallway. "Jealous of your mother? Why should I be jealous of your mother?"

Buffy tutted, "No, I mean are you jealous of the grocer's boy?"

"Why would I be jealous of him, he's a Mug-." Behind her, Tom bit his lip.

Buffy moved into the hall. Keeping her voice low, she replied, "I don't think he's a mug. You were jealous when you thought I'd snuck out for him."

"I wasn't. I don't care what you do," Tom answered crossly. "Just don't throw stones at my window in the middle of the night in future and expect help from me."

"You're jealous," she goaded, turning her face and hiding her grin.

"I'm not!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down, you'll wake people up with your over-denial. And you so are jealous."

"Buffy, please believe me. If you wish to elope with a grocer's boy that's fine by me. My only hope is that he keeps you and doesn't decide you're too much trouble and tries to return you."

She let out a soft huff of indignation."Har, har, that's not funny, snake-boy"

Tom smirked to himself, genuine amusement replacing his annoyance.

…...

A/N;

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