A/N: It just needed another chapter. It seemed so...empty otherwise. So, a "first story" special: Two chaps. for the price of one! Lucky you! Oh, and if you're wondering why it's rated M...go watch Evil Dead. You'll understand.
Disclaimer: (See chapter one.)
Chapter 2 - Darkness Falls
The sun had completely set by the time the gang had settled in and dinner was ready. Everyone gathered around the long dining table as Buffy and Riley brought the food out. After taking their seats, conversation quickly quieted as they all dug in, enjoying their first good meal in days. After all, they could only handle so much greasy fast food on the road.
"This is really good, Buffy," Willow said as she took another bite from her dinner. The blonde smiled brightly.
"Thanks! I made it all by myself!" Sitting next to her, Riley loudly cleared his throat. Her smiled faded slightly as she glanced at him. "Okay, so I had a little help."
"Xander, you should stand up and give a speech," Anya whispered to him as he hungrily took a bite out of a seasoned chicken leg.
"What? Why?"
"Well, because that's what men are suppose to do. At a memoriable event or honorable occasion, a man is suppose to stand up and give a speech of some sort, or at least a word of encouragement and thanks to his peers."
"I think you've got that confused with 'going into battle.'" He nearly chocked on his food when he felt a sharp kick to his shin. "Ow!"
"Everything okay there, Xander," Buffy asked.
"Just peachy," he muttered. Feeling his girlfriend's intense glare, he sighed heavily. Wiping his mouth with his napkin, he slowly stood from his seat and awkwardly cleared his throat.
"Um, excuse me, everyone?" He felt all eyes turn to him and he quickly grew nervous. "I just wanted to toast to, uh, this wonderful occasion. Y'know, there probably won't be many times where we'll get to do something like this, what with you guys going to school and Buffy's slaying and my...um, working two jobs." He paused, trying to finish his train of thought. "Anyway, yeah. I just wanted to say I'm really going to enjoy this time I get to spend with you guys. To friendship," he finished lamely. The group raised their glasses and all tapped them together.
"Are you happy now," he muttered, taking his seat.
"Yes. Very."
"That was a good speech, Xand," Willow said after a few minutes. "Way better than that one at Thanksgiving a few years ago."
"Why? What happened," Riley asked, looking from the red head to Xander.
"Let's just say I've gotten better at my inspirational speech making."
"He finished it with, 'May the force be with you.'"
"Real original, Xander," Buffy said with a smile.
"Again, I've had a lot of practice since then."
"Oh," Willow began excitedly, "Remember in second grade when you-" She was suddenly cut off by a loud bang coming from the main room of the cabin. Everyone quickly rose from their seats and rushed into the other room. The cellar door that was built into the floor was wide open, leading into darkness.
"Did the wind do that," Xander wondered aloud as Anya nervous held onto his arm.
"Wind can't do that." Willow looked at her friends nervously before directing her fearful attention onto the opening.
"Do you think someone is hiding down there?"
"There's only one way to find out," Riley replied, grabbing the flashlight off the bookcase. "I'll be right back."
"Riley, wait. I'm going with you." He paused on the stairs and looked back up at Buffy.
"No, you wait here. It won't take me long. Besides, if something is down there, you gotta stay up here and make sure nothing happens to them." After a slight hesitation, she nodded, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Just hurry up." He nodded and disappeared down into the black cellar. A clock hanging on the wall quietly ticked as the seconds rolled by. Willow and Xander looked at each other nervously while Buffy stared intently at the entrance to the cellar. Seconds quickly turned into a minute, then another and another. Anya leaned in a little closer to Xander.
"Maybe he got lost," Anya mumbled. The three Scoobies stared at her before slowly shaking their heads.
"Riley," Buffy called. They all held their breaths as they listened. However, there was not a single sound.
"Riley!"
"Hey, Riley, c'mon! Answer us!" Xander sighed. "Look, if this is your idea of a joke, it's not very funny, man. You're really freaking out the girls!"
"Maybe one of us should go down there and check to see if he's okay," suggested Willow.
"I'll go." Buffy and Xander exchanged looks. Sure, they said it at the same time, but only one of them was really going to go. They furrowed their brows at each other, challenging the other to make the first move.
"Xander, I'm the Slayer. Whatever's down there is no match for me."
"How do you know something's actually down there? What if he just fell and hit his head on the wall or something? He can't hear us. I'll go."
"No, I'm going and that's final."
"Ha! Says you." Willow sighed angrily and crossed her arms, stepping between the two teens.
"Guys, we're getting no where fast with the fighting."
"She's right, Buffy. Let's solve this like real adults. 'Rock, Paper, Scissors.' Winner gets to go down there."
"Fine."
"Fine!" Willow angrily walked out of the main room as the two stared hard at the other, moving their fists in the air.
"Rock..."
"Paper..."
"Scissors!" Buffy had gone with paper while Xander, like always, went with scissors.
"Ha! I win!" He grabbed the flashlight Willow handed him once she had returned and stood at the top of the stairs, shinning the bright beam into the darkness. His stomach twisted in knots as he gulped nervously.
"Okay, here I go. I'll be back in a sec." As he slowly descended the wooden stairs, he began to feel a sense of deja vu. He'd seen this place before, or at least he thought. It seemed so familiar. Perhaps Uncle Rory had a place like this once when Xander was a little kid.
Once he reached the cold, dirt floor, he slowly ran his flashlight beam around the room. Strange and deformed gourds hung from the rafters. Droplets of icy water fell on his bare arms. Looking up, he found a rusted, leaky pipe that ran along the ceiling. He followed it with his light until it reached what he thought was a dead end, but instead found a door built into the stone wall. The door, made of rotting wood, was hidden behind boxes of God knows what, and was almost perfectly camouflaged with the wooden book cases and old furniture.
"Do you see him down there, Xand?" The dark haired young man looked up at his concerned friends leaning over the entrance.
"No, but there's a door. I'm going to see what's behind it." Taking a deep breath, he crept along, glancing at the shadows for any sign of movement. Once he was inches from the door, he reached his hand out and turned the knob. There was a loud pop as it turned and he pulled the door open, the loud creaking echoing off the walls. He was met with complete blackness. A few steps into the room, he felt a sudden chill that took over his entire body. The hairs on his neck stood up and his breathing became faster and more shallow.
"This is bad. This is very bad," he muttered as he glanced around the room. "I should leave." His flashlight suddenly began to flicker. "Damn it!" The light went completely out, leaving him stranded in the dark. He quickly beat the light against his palm a few times, bringing it back to life. Glaring at it, daring it to go out again, he finally sighed, sure that it would remain on. Pointing it back in front of him, Xander let out a rather girlish scream when he realized someone was standing mere inches from his face.
"Whoa, Xander, relax! It's just me," Riley exclaimed, grabbing the young man by the shoulders.
"Riley?! Merciful Zeus! You scared me half to death, man! What are you thinking, creeping around here like that?!"
"Sorry."
"Why didn't you answer us when we called for you?" Riley shrugged.
"I didn't hear you guys."
"Oh. Well, the girls are pretty freaked out. How about you come back upstairs?"
"Just a sec. Come here, you gotta see this!" Riley grabbed Xander's wrist and pulled him into another room, one that looked like an office. On the desk was an old tape recorder, as well as some old papers with foreign writing on them. A tattered book rested on the corner of the desk too. There were a few weapons and ammo as well, something Xander thought as out of place for an office.
"I bet Giles would really like this," Riley stated with a smile as he picked up an odd looking knife. The blade looked about eight inches long, sharpe and shimmering like it had been recently polished. The handle itself felt like it was made of bone, which had been carved to look like the backbone of a skeleton. The bottom of the handle was carved like a skull, its mouth open as if it were screaming.
"What's that?"
"I don't know. Maybe one of the girls can tell us. I want to know what's on this tape recorder too."
"Oh my God," Xander exclaimed, picking up the book. "Riley, look at this thing!" The cover seemed to be coated in some sort of hard, waxy material and it looked like it had a nose, as well as a mouth and eyes carved into it. He carefully opened the book and became more creeped out. Sketches of mutilated bodies, diagrams of deformed eyes and strange symbols littered the pages. The text itself was in a redish brown ink, some droplets of it on the corners of the pages.
"And people wonder why I was never into books," the brunette teen said with a grin. Riley chuckled as he picked up a twelve gage shotgun that rested along the edge of the desk, up against the wall.
"Let's get this stuff upstairs. I'll bet Buffy, or at least Willow will be interested in it."
"Sure." Xander closed the book and helped Riley carry the items upstairs, leaving some things behind.
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"About time," Anya said as Xander and Riley emeraged from the cellar. "Geez, you guys take forever!"
"Look what we found," Xander said in a sing-song voice as Riley set the tape recorder on the floor. Everyone gathered around, taking a seat as Xander put the rest of the items aside.
"You found all of this in the cellar," Buffy asked, inspecting the skeleton dagger.
"Yeah, there was this office hidden in the way back. Couldn't have been any larger than one of the closets."
"This must be at least thirty years old," Willow said, studying the tape recorder.
"That's what I thought," Riley added. "My dad used to have one like this when I was really little. He rarely let me use it though."
"Well, let's see what's on it!" Xander reached over and hit the "play" button. The tape rotated a few times, a crackling noise being made. A moment later, a man's voice sounded over the
speaker. He started talking about excavating ruins in search of a book and studying it.
"I believe I have made a significant find in the Candarian ruins," he droned on.
"Does anybody else think this was Giles' idea," Buffy asked as she listened to the man talk about a book called, "Necronomicon Ex Mortis," or "The Book of the Dead." Everybody nodded their heads in agreement.
"Book of the Dead?" Xander groaned. "We can't escape it!"
"Relax, Xand. We don't even know if this is real. It could all be some practical joke."
"The book is bound in human flesh and inked in human blood," the man stated. Xander immediately paled as he glanced at the book next to him. He could feel his dinner threatening to make an encore appearence for the night.
"Honey, are you okay," Anya whispered. Afraid to open his mouth, Xander nodded and gave her a weak smile as he wiped his hands on his jeans. The group continued to listen as the man explained the book's meanings, the demons, and ressurrection incantations inside of it. They all shared looks when he went on to explain how these demons, the dead which are never really dead, are able to possess the living. After a few more minutes, Riley began to fast forward it.
"Maybe this is where he explains how it's all a hoax or something," he muttered, hitting the "play" button again.
"Tantir ah mis trobeen ha zar ta."
"What the..." Xander trailed off, turning up the volume as the man continued on. "Wil, do you know what he's saying?"
"No, I don't recognize it." Xander turned to his girlfriend who was staring at the recorder curiously.
"Ahn?"
"I don't recognize the language either."
"It must be really old then!" Seeing the glare Anya gave him, he sheepishly added, "And I mean that in the nicest was possible, dear."
"Kanda..."
"Maybe we should turn it off," Willow said quietly, nervously running her hands together.
"Kanda," the man repeated, this time a little louder.
"Yeah, Riley, turn it off," Buffy said, her face a combination of fear and disgust.
"Kanda!"
"Look out," Riley shouted just as a large tree branch broke through the front window of the cabin. Xander and Anya jumped up, as they were closest to the window, Xander shielding his girlfriend with his body.
"Is everyone okay," Riley asked after a minute. Xander and Buffy glared at the soldier. Anya was still clutching the back of Xander's canary yellow, Hawiian button up and Willow had taken off to her room. Sighing, Buffy headed off after Willow, Anya following close behind.
"Riley, we told you to turn it off," Xander said angrily. "What were you thinking?!"
"You could've turned it off too, you know. It's not like you don't have any hands. Besides, I was expecting him to say it was a joke. Like an old radio show or something."
"Well, even if it was a joke, it's not funny. One of us could've really gotten hurt," the dark haired Scooby said as he pushed the tree branch out the window. He closed the shutters and looked at the broken glass that scattered on the floor. Sighing, he muttered, "I'll go look for a broom."