The Downside of Elemental Dieseling
Author: Nickeltaffy
Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah…These characters are Joss's. I don't own them, never did and never will. Thanks for the loan, Joss.
Spike has just recovered from being a four-year-old the previous day. While trying to get back to life as usual, what if the stone wasn't done messing with the blonde vampire? Sequel to: Turning the Helical Gear.
…
Chapter 15
Angel managed to finally grasp the flailing limbs of the wild looking woman and held them away from his body. The distraught screaming woman seeing that her arms were restrained, resorted to a sharp kick to the vampire's shins. Although vampires are notoriously resilient, a sharp hard toe to the shin is still remarkably painful. The teeth gritting pain made Angel shy away and dance on one foot while attempting to control the woman. Despite the vampire's efforts, Shirley miraculously managed to wrench a hand free from her opponent's loosened grip and bury it in his gelled vertical thatch of hair as he was bent forward trying to maintain his balance. With some inhuman strength borne of desperation, the woman locked her fingers in his thick hair and pulled.
"Hey, Ow!" Angel yowled, as his hand sought blindly to grab the woman's wrist to ease the tension on his carefully arranged hair. He was unable to straighten up as his attention bounced between the sharp pain in his shin and his imminent membership in the local hair club for men.
"What have you done with Sonny?" Shirley appeared totally unhinged as she demanded, her voice gruff with threat. "Where is he? Where is HE?"
"Sonny? Who is Sonny? I don't know a Sonny. Come on, let go!" Angel answered loudly and bewilderedly
"My little boy. You took him, you monster. If you so much harmed a hair on his precious head, I swear I will tear you apart!" Shirley demanded as she pulled once again on the vampire's hair.
"What? Hey! Who? You mean Spike? Listen, I didn't hurt him. He managed to...Ouch!" Angel winced as the woman gave another vicious yank. Wincing from the pain, he attempted to keep the desperate pleading tone from his voice as he asked. "He's fine! Will you let go so we can discuss this calmly?"
"Sure, you want me to believe you, you monster! It's not going to work! You better start talking if you want to keep any hair on your head!" Shirley stated threateningly. "Now, where is my baby?"
At just that moment, the pair is showered by gravel and the squeal of tires as a black SUV drove up and spun its backend toward them. Shirley reeled back in alarm away from the vehicle, her arms pin wheeling as she backed way. Her heel broke as it hit a broken piece of concrete and sent her body slamming to the pavement.
Angel stood upright once Shirley's hand was removed from his hair. He watched the upset woman fall back until he heard a familiar voice shout out at him. Angel could see Gunn leaned over from behind the wheel of the SUV with Wes and Fred looking at him urgently from the rear seat.
"Angel! Get in, man! We gotta get after Spike! Those monsters are after him!" Gunn shouted as he looked from the vampire to the path that Spike's car had taken.
For a nanosecond, Angel paused as he thought about the distressed woman but his concern about Spike overwhelmed his thoughts. He rushed over to the SUV and got in quickly. Gunn jammed the accelerator to the floor and the SUV quickly disappeared down the mayhem of the street.
Shirley scrambled to her feet as fast as she could with her broken shoe. She limped out to the middle of the street.
"WHERE IS HE?" Shirley screamed after the vehicle which was quickly disappearing into the distance.
She was bent over with the effort as she became suddenly still. She stood up with a purpose as she pushed the hair back from her face, her eyes glaring with an intense resolve that bespoke that this was not over. As if an answer to her thinking, a familiar black limousine pulled up next to her at that moment.
…
Spike cursed under his breath as he tightly gripped the steering wheel that suspended in front of his face. His view was obstructed partially by the dash but Spike somehow managed to navigate the speeding police car through the crowded highway. It took all of Spike's concentration or dumb luck to keep from ramming the juggernaut of the police car into other cars or bouncing off concrete barriers. He fruitlessly kicked at the relic wedged on the accelerator while he drove, hoping to slow the car. Luckily, the blaring noise of his siren managed to make people aware of his approach and hinder his progress. Finally, seeing the sign for the upcoming exit to his goal, Spike spun the wheel of the car. The police car's tires squealed leaving a pair of long dark skid marks on the highway. Two wheels of the vehicle hopped up on the exit's concrete barrier, the undercarriage showering sparks as it rounded the concrete barrier on the edge of the off ramp.
The car bounced repeatedly when it left the ramp and landed on to Wilshire Boulevard. The resulting jolt sent Spike flying across the seat, where he lay stunned for just a moment. Even though the jolt sent Spike flying, it had no effect on the vessel stuck on the pedals. Spike clambered awkwardly across the seat to land quickly back behind the car's wheel just in time to guide the car onto busy Wilshire boulevard. Spike avoided collision with other cars by crossing lanes, jumping up on sidewalks and back to the street, sending the screaming pedestrians diving out of the way. Luckily, the only victims were some trashcans and a lonely mailbox which brought Spike a satisfying thrill as they bounced off the front of the police car.
Finally, after speeding down several blocks, Spike could see his goal. He began to once again kick at the wedged relic to try to slow the car. He looked down to see what progress he had made and looked up to see a group of tourists with their guide holding a skinny flag crossing the road in front of him. He jerked the wheel to the left to avoid the group who stood frozen in the road. The car ran onto a pile of gravel that was located on the side of the road where the city was repairing a nearby sewer. The combination of speed and the angle of the gravel pile sent the police car into the air, its wheels spinning. As the car flew through the air, the bandage with Fred's blood suddenly ripped free and flew away fluttering in the breeze. Completing the arc, the police car came down in the center of the large pool in the La Brea tar pits.
With the impact of the landing, Spike's head came in contact with the roof of the car. Once the car seemed to have settled in the middle of the pool, he reached up to the rub the resulting sore bump on the top of his head. As he looked around, he saw that the relic had finally been jostled free from its position under the dash. Just then, he felt the car suddenly lurch. The rear of the car began to sink quickly at a steep angle, causing all the loose objects including loose change, pens and writing pads to pelt Spike as they fell to finally rest on the rear window. Realizing his predicament, Spike pressed the down window level button on the door and prayed the electrical system of the car was still working. He sighed with relief as the window lowered.
Sensing that the car would soon fall to the fate of the creatures from ages past, Spike grabbed the urn and scrambled out of the window. He crawled across the windshield and stood with the relic in his arms as the angle of the car's descent became sharper. He looked around to see the statues of the mammoths were too far away for him to make the leap, even without the reliquary in his arms.
"Buggar!" Spike grumbled as he shifted the urn awkwardly in his arms. "You really landed in it this time, mate!"
He stood there as he looked around for an escape from his current predicament when a movement caught his eye in the sky.
…..
Gunn sped down Wilshire Boulevard swerving in and out of traffic in an effort to catch up with Spike. Wes and Fred assisted with the navigation by pointing out the skid marks on the pavement and mangled trash cans. And when there was no telltale sign, Angel was able to point which way Spike had gone by scent. As the SUV approached the area near the La Brea tar pits, the group hoped that they would catch a glimpse of the small vampire's car. Gunn suddenly had to slam on the brakes and skid to a stop as the street was clogged by people running and pointing toward the tar pits in La Brea park.