"Lydia--" Her father was at death's door. He had mere hours left. "Lyd, I need you to realize something. They're all going to be looking to you for leadership, for protection. They might be children of Slayers and witches and everything else, but when it comes right down to it, you're the oldest and they're just scared kids."

"So am I, Daddy."

Someone was shaking her arm to wake her. "Lyd! Something tripped the wards!"

Lydia blinked and attempted to grasp what nine-year-old Marco Napoli was telling her. "What?" She asked groggily, rubbing her eyes. Sleep had become something of a rarity lately. After four weeks of confinement in the compound, the kids were getting testy and problems constantly arose. Problems which everyone assumed she could fix.

"Something tripped the wards," he said again more slowly. Lydia frowned as her mind caught up with what he had said. "Not an animal?"

"No."

No, if it had been an animal he wouldn't have bothered to wake her. She was on her feet in an instant and leading him towards the cafeteria-cum-meeting room. "What then? Do we know?"

"Not yet. Tommy and Andie are on the roof checking it out." Once upon a time, the seriousness of that statement coming from little Marco would have made her laugh. These days, everyone had seemed to age ten years overnight.

She changed her course to the roof access. Their footsteps echoed in the cavernous corridor and reminded Lydia of a military march. That's kind of true, she thought dispassionately. We are an army and I'm their General. The hall was nearly black because the ground-floor windows had been boarded up, so she couldn't tell what the day was like. It was only noon, though, so unless it was very overcast, the interloper couldn't have been a vampire. Unfortunately, there were many worse things out there than a bloodsucker.

They emerged on the roof to find it was an brilliantly sunny day, unusual for the time of year in England. Tommy Forth and Andie Wells, the eldest next to her and her seconds-in-command, were stationed at opposite ends of the roof scanning the grounds with binoculars.

"Anything?"

"Nothing," replied Andie and Tommy almost simultaneously. Then Tommy stopped. "Wait -- there's something coming up the drive." He passed his binoculars off to Lydia, whose stomach was churning. This was it; this was the real deal. No more playing soldiers.

"What is that?" It looked kind of like a dog, but different and definitely demonic. The thing was running around in a zig-zag and snuffling at the ground, then it locked onto some smell and made a direct beeline to the front door. Lydia dropped the binoculars and watched the thing approach. "Marco," she said suddenly. "Go get Lucy." She knew that her unspoken orders would also be understood, and Marco was off like a shot to collect his younger sister. Andie leaned over the edge slightly to get a better look. "Is it like a demon dog?"

"Maybe it's looking for food," suggested Tommy. Lydia took a breath to still her jumping nerves. "Yeah, kid-shaped food." They continued to watch the dog-thing circle the perimeter of the building, and just as it rounded the side to reach the front again, Marco appeared with Lucy, who held a crossbow in her arms. She was only seven, but somehow Lucy had the drive and determination to practise with the thing day after day and had become an exceptional shot.

"Lyd, the thing's leaving."

Lydia turned sharply to see the dog trotting back down the lane. "Lucy, I need you to shoot it." The little girl's eyes were huge and she looked hesitant, but moved to the edge of the building to set up her shot.

"I know you can do it, Luce," Lydia encouraged, not wanting to lose the chance. When she saw Lucy's lip quiver, she felt terrible for asking the girl to do something like this, but also felt sort of proud when Lucy bit her lip and apparently steeled herself. She bent over the bow, lined herself up, and squeezed the trigger with her tiny finger. Seconds later the dog jerked and tumbled to the ground with a guttural yelp. The bow dropped from Lucy's hands and she started crying. Lydia knelt down to look the girl in the eyes. "Lucy, I'm so sorry that you had to do that."

Marco led his sister back down the stairs, leaving Lydia alone with Tommy and Andie. "It wasn't hurting anything," Andie said coldly, angry at what had just happened. Lydia frowned at the girl. "I know it wasn't, but what if it had found us? Or what if it was going back to tell something else that we're here?" Tommy, torn between the two points of view, spoke up. "But what if it wasn't?"

"Would you want to take that chance?"

Tommy sighed. "Well, if it was going to let someone know that we're here and doesn't show up, they're going to come looking for it."

Andie glared and kicked the wall. "I hate this! Why did they have to die?"

"I don't know," Lydia said, resigned. "But they did, and now we're the grownups."

"Mommy, what's going to happen to me?"

"You're going to survive."

"But what if I don't know how?"

"It's in your blood, baby."

The place was deserted, she was sure of it. The whole street was suspiciously quiet; in the hours she'd been watching from her hiding spot, not a soul had gone by. That was very strange considering the whole of LA was chaos: riots in the streets, looting and pointless destruction, bodies of demon and child alike in the streets where they'd dropped. It had been six weeks and Gem was used to all the different horrors she witnessed daily. She'd never stayed in one place too long and because of the things her mother had taught her before, she had yet to go more than a day without eating.

She could steal anything that wasn't nailed down and never hesitated to use those skills, even if it meant taking from other kids. Problem was, the other kids weren't having the best time finding food anymore and that had led her to expand her search. In the beginning she'd gone into every grocery store and restaurant she could find, but she wasn't the only one to think that way and most places were picked clean by now.

Then she'd found this tiny place tucked into a seedy neighbourhood that the city had apparently forgotten. She was too smart to just stroll in -- anything could be behind those dark little windows. She'd seen a couple of places that were traps: the vampires knew the kids would be hungry and set up shop wherever there was food. But nothing had moved for hours, and she knew she had to make her move eventually, so she waited until well past sundown to see if any vampires would come out and when none had for two hours, she stuck to the shadows and found her way in through a window with a weak lock.

The window opened directly into the kitchen, and after climbing in as quietly as she could, Gem looked around for any doors and found two. Peeking out of both, she found one led out to the restaurant itself, and the other to be a pantry. The place was as dead and quiet as a tomb but she kept her guard up as she rifled through the pantry, delighted to find packages of pasta and other dry materials that could be salvaged. She packed her bag with whatever she could while stuffing very stale cookies into her mouth.

"Who's in there?" Demanded a voice that sounded male and gravelly. Gem froze only for an instant before bolting out of the pantry and past a large figure whose features she couldn't make out in the dark. "Hey!" He called angrily as Gem ran into the restaurant, intent on making her escape through the front door. "Stop!" The voice shouted again, and Gem heard him begin to chase her into the street.

She was fast, but the bag weighted her down and she was not willing to sacrifice that much food until absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, she didn't have 'absolutely necessary' defined and a strong hand grabbed her shoulder. "Let me go!" She shrieked, trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

"Miss, please-"

She didn't hear him as she could only see the very demonic face staring down at her, a face that was attached to six feet of body. As her fear and anger grew, Gem began to feel very strange. "Let. Me. GO!" And just as she shouted the last word, an enormous bolt of blue-white lightning struck down from the sky and hit Gem squarely in the chest, blowing her and the demon apart. She didn't know how long it lasted, only that it didn't hurt, and before long the white light blinding her was replaced by the black blanket of unconsciousness.

When she opened her eyes again she found herself looking directly at a spotty white ceiling. Then she realized that she was in a bed and jerked upward to look around. The first thing she saw was the demon who'd chased her sitting comfortably in a chair next to the bed. He was large with little red spikes all over his face and very white hair. "How are you feeling?" He asked, sounding guarded but genuinely concerned. Gem said nothing, instead throwing the covers off and moving to jump off the bed. The demon reached out. "Please, lie back down. You could be seriously injured."

"I'm fine," she replied cautiously, scooting into the farthest corner of the bed away from the demon. She still had her eyebrows and aside from some holes in her clothes was completely unburned. Her mind was racing and her whole body felt... electrified, just like her mother used to explain the feeling to Gem. "What are you going to do to me?" She asked, her voice strong with only a tiny tremor. The demon chuckled. "Well, feed you, if you'll let me. You cleaned out my pantry so I figured you must be hungry. I'm not going to hurt you," he promised, gravely serious. She said nothing and he nodded. "I understand. I'll be in the kitchen just down the hall with some soup and tea. If you want some, you're welcome to join me. If not, the door's just at the end of the hall." Then, chair creaking, he got up and left the room, leaving Gem alone with her thoughts.

She'd never been struck by lightning before; had never so much as given anyone a shock. Her mom figured that Gem had been lucky enough not to inherit the unusual abilities Gwen had been cursed with, but now Gem didn't know what to think.

This is not the place to do it, her inner voice warned her, and Gem shook her head at her stupidity. The demon had given her an out -- why was she still sitting here? Her bag was on the floor by the bed and she scooped it up on her way out the door. She was feet from the exit of what apparently was a little apartment above the restaurant when the smell of the soup stopped her. Going against every instinct and ounce of better judgement she possessed, Gem turned around and found the little kitchen. The demon was at the table with a book and a cup of tea, and there was a steaming bowl of soup waiting for her at an empty spot.

She hadn't had hot food in ages. Silently she slipped into the seat and took up the waiting spoon. "Have you got a name?" Asked the demon suddenly, not looking away from his book.

"Yes."

The demon chuckled at the response. "My name's Nathaniel. You can call me Nat." Gem said nothing and they lapsed back into a silence that was almost comfortable. Nat went back to his book and she finished off two bowls of the soup. "What happened out there was the most extraordinary thing I've ever seen," her host said as she stood to leave. "You're sure you're alright?" She wasn't hurt but she certainly wasn't alright. "Thanks for the soup," she replied and collected her bag. "You should get a better lock for your window."

"Please, stay the night," Nat invited suddenly. "I'd feel much better if I could see for myself that there are no side effects from that lightning strike." Gem searched his eyes for a hint of a lie. "Why are you being nice to me?" She asked suspiciously. Nat frowned at the question, or perhaps at the tone in which she'd asked, and sighed. "Not all demons are evil, you know." She didn't know why, but she believed him -- just not enough to stay over. Then he shrugged. "And, truth be told, it's a bit lonely here by myself."

Lonely, she got, but she still trusted her gut more than the kind words of a stranger. After a second's hesitation, she decided that after a night to think over things she might visit this Nat the next day. Maybe. "My name's Gem," she said, unsmiling, and left the demon alone with his book and his thoughts.

"Mom, what's your name?"

"You know what-"

"No, your full name."

His mother looked at him like she was confused by the question, then her light blue eyes lit up like she suddenly understood. "Katherine Helen Lockley Beck. Helen after my mother and Lockley is my maiden name."

"It suits you," Jason decided. Kate smiled at her son. "Names are funny -- people say that someone's name fits their personality, but really the person gives the personality to their name."

"Get out of here. This stuff is ours."

Jason had about three inches and two years on the kid staring him down over a few cans of soup, and might have laughed in his face if not for the handful of kids backing him up. They were all skinny and dirty and had something almost feral in their eyes. A couple of them were holding crude (but effective) weapons of lengths of pipe or wooden bats. It was mainly because of those that he didn't just push his way through the group. Instead, he shot the younger boy his most contemptuous look.

"Unless your name is Campbell, I don't see how that's possible."

The kid didn't get it and Jason frowned slightly. He figured that had been pretty clever and might have at least gotten him a smirk. "My name ain't Campbell," the kid sneered. "It's Calvin." Jason gave the group a once-over and decided he might be able to take them. He was more loaded down with weapons than all of them combined. "Well, Calvin, you and your little friends are in my way." But before he could take a step forward towards the stockpile of soup, Calvin's group formed a line in his path, moving into formation like little soldiers.

"Get lost before we make you," Calvin warned. "This is our turf."

Jason eyed them in a different light. Claiming of turf often meant the claimer was part of a gang -- he'd seen countless movies that depicted it, but even more relevant was the fact that kids had been forming gangs all over the place. He'd managed to stick it out on his own in the city for three months, but the gangs were beginning to make things more difficult. Twice he'd already witnessed brawls between gangs over food or shelter. Boston had always been a tough city, but now that genuine survival was on the line it was getting downright vicious. He wanted no part of gang life-- they believed that there was safety in numbers, he thought they were easier targets.

Still, he wasn't afraid of them and he sure as hell wasn't about to let this Calvin kid intimidate him. Catching Calvin's eye, he held the kid's furious gaze. "Look, I don't care whose turf this is. I'm taking one of those cans and anyone who wants to stop me can just go ahead and try."

He was a little surprised when the group actually did try to stop him. He fought his way through them -- they were all young and small, but determined and nasty -- and only gained the upper hand when he pulled out the knife from his pocket. It startled them enough for him to get in a wicked punch to Calvin's jaw and send the kid tumbling to the floor. "Stop!" He said furiously, and with their leader on the floor with a bloody mouth, they listened. "I don't want to hurt anyone and I don't want to take all this food. I just want one or two cans and I'll be out of here." In the end they agreed, however begrudgingly. He was on his way out of the tiny convenience store when Calvin shouted him a warning. "If you ever show your face around here again we'll kill you!"

Jason believed him, even if he had beaten the whole group. He glanced around the dark street before ducking into the shadows to head to his current 'home' and crack open his first meal in two days. He was half a block away from the store when he heard the voices -- the adult voices. Instinctively he dived behind an abandoned car and watched as two men who had to be in their twenties approached the store that Jason knew those kids still occupied. They were vampires, this he knew for certain, and they were about to grab dinner.

What was he supposed to do?

The answer came almost before the question had run through his mind. He knew how to kill vampires and he knew he couldn't let those kids die. The second the vamps passed through the doorway, Jason darted out from his hiding spot and raced back to the store, pulling out his stake and cross along the way.

There were screams and as he hit the open doorway saw the gang scattering, though not all got away. One of the vamps had two writhing kids in his iron grasp, the other had Calvin backed into a corner. Not pausing long enough for his fear to take hold, Jason dived into the fray, hoping to catch them off-guard. He had his stake out and rushed the vamp holding the two kids. With his hands full, Jason might have a chance.

He was just as astonished as the vampire was when the piece of wood found its way into the thing's heart. He dropped his prey and started turning into dust, which was something Jason had not expected, and with one startled cry: "What?" crumbled into nothing. The other, alerted by the sound, turned and his jaw dropped before his face suddenly shifted into a wrinkled, gold-eyed, fanged mess. "You little-"

"Wood!" Jason shouted. "Wood in their hearts! Cut their heads off! Fire! All that kills them!" The two kids and Calvin just stared, frozen, as Jason darted back and forth to elude the vampire's grasp. "Come on, guys! Don't wuss out now!" He added, almost growling with exasperation and adrenaline and terror. He managed to dodge the vamp by running between the shelves, but after a few minutes the thing caught him by the back of his jacket and hauled him into the air. Jason wasn't about to go down without a fight, however, and sliced up the thing's arm with his knife. It backhanded him across the face and while Jason saw stars and his vision blackened around the edges, he did not back down.

The vampire sneered at him. "You're gonna pay for killing Joey, you little shit." Jason sneered right back and pressed his cross onto the vampire's face. Caught off-guard like his pal Joey, the vampire howled and dropped Jason, just in time for Calvin to push one of the metal shelves into the vampire, sending it to the ground. And just as quickly, one of the two other kids plunged a broken-off piece of their wooden bat into its heart.

The four of them stared at the spot that was now only occupied by dust and then at each other. Jason's heart was beating wildly and adrenaline was racing through his veins. Calvin's mouth opened and closed soundlessly a couple of times before he got words out. "That was... that was.."

"Awesome!" Jason breathed. "Did you see the way they just turned into dust? I didn't know they would do that."

"You know what they are?" Asked the girl who'd staked the second vampire. Jason nodded. "Vampires." Calvin toed the dust with a ratty shoe. "How'd you know how to kill them?"

"My mom told me," Jason said, coming down from the natural high of the adrenaline and realizing what he'd just done: he'd killed something, he'd actually killed a vampire. "Look, I'll tell you what she told me. We can't let them win." He helped them collect the rest of the soup cans and agreed to follow them back to their camp to explain to everyone. All at once, he felt like a different person; a very grown up person that others looked to for guidance. He didn't know how to feel about that.

"Hey," Calvin said suddenly. "What's your name, anyway?"

"Lock." Jason said, suddenly feeling as if the last layer of youthful innocence he possessed had been stripped away. "You can call me Lock."