It was late, like three AM late, and the cafeteria was closed. Faith pushed the swinging door open just a little, peering inside. The lights were off, but her nightvision showed her a large expanse of tables and chairs, all very clean. Her hearing didn't detect anyone moving around; her nose didn't pick up anything except the residual odors that had led her here. Kira slipped in front of her and looked into the room. The sudden loud growl from Faith's stomach made her giggle and look up at the older girl.
"Hungry?"
The Slayer put a hand on the child's back and gently propelled her into the room, following close behind.
"You bet I am. I'm gonna need a few serious food binges if I'm going to get my strength back." The two of them walked slowly towards the kitchen, which was at the far end of the large space. Faith had to reach out a couple of times and guide Kira around obstacles the girl could not see in the near-total darkness. The food preparation area was a separate room, with access via two doors and a serving counter that had large swing-down panels to close it off when not in use. Everything was shut, and Faith frowned as she tried one of the doors, only to find it locked.
"Crap. I wanted to be sneaky." She looked down at the girl beside her, but she doubted Kira could even see her except as a dim outline. Faith's stomach growled again, and she shrugged. All this moving around was bringing her metabolism back up from the low levels she'd imposed on it during her long coma, and she wasn't making any effort to slow it down. She needed to be at full speed before she made any kind of move to escape from this place. That meant that the body needed fuel, and lots of it. Now.
She took a step back, measuring the distance to the door, and then kicked it. There was a low booming sound that echoed around the room, but the door stood firm. The Slayer growled, took a deep breath, then kicked it again, harder. It didn't budge. Kira was looking around anxiously.
"Faith, that's really loud. Somebody's gonna hear us."
She took two steps back, glaring at the door. It was just a door, dammit. A metal-clad door, yeah, but nothing she couldn't get through. Moving forward, she pivoted on her left foot and lashed out with her right, twisting her upper body in counterbalance to put maximum force into the blow. The thud resounded deafeningly, and she was thrust several steps back, but the door stayed stubbornly intact.
"Fuck!" She was the Slayer, and she couldn't even manage to break into a cafeteria kitchen. "Worthless, hopeless, lame-ass, dumb-ass, loser bitch!" She was trembling with helpless rage, and she jerked in surprise when something touched her on the hand. Kira was looking across the room at the light coming in through the glass panels in the double doors.
"I think somebody's coming. Hide!"
Faith let the girl pull her down behind a table, and a few seconds later someone did push one of the doors open and put their head in.
"Hello? Is somebody in here?"
The two of them stayed crouched low. Faith was hoping that there wasn't a light switch handy to the doors, because if they came on the guy would easily spot them. A brief, tense time passed, then the door swung shut. She raised her head over the table and looked, just to be sure, but he was gone. She sat down on the floor, folding her arms across her stomach in a vain effort to ease the gnawing hunger there.
"Now what?" She looked around. "If I can't break that down, I sure as hell can't break into a snack machine. Except maybe one of those with the glass front, and gee, won't that be freaking obvious."
Kira stood there looking at her with a worried expression.
"Couldn't you come back when they open? You're a grown up, mostly. You could buy stuff."
Faith shook her head wearily.
"No money, babe. Besides, I've got this feeling that it wouldn't be good for people to see me up and walking around. Maybe something I dreamed...." She trailed off, wondering what she had dreamed. There had been images there, and some of them had seemed important. The little girl had moved over to the wall and was feeling along it. She tried both doors, but they were locked tight. Which was a good thing, because if the other one had turned out to be unlocked, Faith might have had to kill herself right then and there to escape the embarrassment. There were a couple of recessed areas where food serving bins dropped into little cavities designed to receive them, and a little nook that she had ignored in favor of kicking in a door. Kira stretched up on tiptoe and reached inside, and there was a creaking sound.
Faith was on her feet and beside the girl in a bare second.
"What'cha got there?"
It was a tiny door, made to allow empty trays to be slid back through the wall. It swung freely when the Slayer tried it, but it was awfully small, and she frowned at it thoughtfully.
"I know I've lost weight, but not that much." It was maybe ten inches high and fifteen wide. Her head, and maybe one shoulder would fit through there, but she doubted the rest of her would. Kira was still stretched up trying to see, though for her it had to be nearly pitch-black in here.
"I think I can do it."
She turned to look in Faith's direction, her pale face showing clearly in the Slayer's nightvision. The older girl considered this for a moment. It shouldn't actually be dangerous, and the kid was certainly small enough....
"Okay." She picked the girl up easily, even without her full Slayer strength; Kira weighed next to nothing. Setting her down on the small ledge, she pushed open the swinging flap and held it. "Be careful, though. Don't fall and hurt yourself, or I'll have to go find somebody to let you out. That would kind of blow the whole undercover thing we've got going here."
The girl nodded, sliding forward on her stomach.
"I'll be careful."
A moment later, and her feet had vanished from view.
* * * * *
It was dark inside the kitchen. Really, really dark. Kira finished crawling through the door, then paused, still on her hands and knees. She hadn't thought ahead when she had offered to come in here. She was by herself, in a dark place. The monster could be in here, and she would never know it was there until it grabbed her. She stayed very still, listening, but all she could hear was her own breathing, and the beating of her heart.
"Kira? You okay?"
Faith's voice, from behind her. She heard the little door swing up; it bumped her foot but didn't really let any more light in. She swallowed heavily.
"Uh, yeah. I'm going."
She edged forward, feeling in front of her with one hand. The counter she was on was slick, and a little greasy. Her reaching hand suddenly touched only empty space, and she swung around until she was sitting on the edge. She hopped down and landed on the floor, only to lose her balance because she couldn't see how far down it was. She caught herself with her hands, then stood up, turning a slow circle and trying to get her bearings. There was a single point of light off to one side; a glowing button on some humming appliance she couldn't make out.
It was creepy in here by herself, and was scared that something bad would happen to her where Faith couldn't get in to help her. She made herself take slow, deep breaths, and to stay quiet. The older girl would think that she was a baby if she started to cry, and then she wouldn't want to be Kira's friend anymore. She wouldn't let that happen, no matter what.
She walked slowly towards where she thought the door should be, her slippers scuffing across the tiles of the floor. Her outstretched hands touched smooth metal, and she found a vertical bar handle. She pulled it open, and light dazzled her. She gave a squeak of surprise, shielding her eyes with one hand as a wash of cool air flowed over her. She squinted into the light, and growled at what she saw.
"Stupid refrigerator." She left the door hanging open, since the light spilling out of it let her see where she was going. Reaching the kitchen door, she grabbed the handle and turned it. At least, she tried to turn it. It wouldn't open, even from this side. She felt the knob wiggle slightly as Faith tried to turn it from the other side, but it would not open.
"I think it needs a key from this side, too." Her voice sounded funny in here with all the metal and tile to bounce it around. Faith said something that Kira couldn't make out, but she guessed it was probably another bad word. There was a muffled thump from outside, then the older girl spoke.
"Okay, kiddo. Come on back to the little flap. I'll think of something else."
She sounded really depressed, and Kira sighed. She walked back towards the counter, passing by the refrigerator on the way. She stopped and looked inside it. It was huge, way bigger than the one she remembered from her house, and it was full of all kinds of stuff. Maybe she could take Faith something to eat, to make up for not having been able to get inside. She reached in and grabbed the first few things she found, but they were hard to hang onto all at once. There was a stack of heavy plastic trays over by the sink, so she went and got one, then dumped the food onto it. That worked much better. She carried it to the counter, carefully reaching up and setting it there before looking for a way to climb up after it.
"Kira, are you coming?"
Ah, if she pulled out the drawers underneath, she could use them to put her feet on.
"Coming!"
She scrambled up beside the tray, glancing back at the refrigerator, which still stood open. If she went back and closed it, it would be hard to climb up here again in the dark. Her eyes fell on the serving counter beside her. Like the little tray door, it was a big opening in the wall between the kitchen and the big room outside. There was a large flat space to set dishes of food on for people to take, and the doors that swung down to close it were fastened tight. She crawled over to look at how they were fastened. There were little metal pins that slid down into holes to keep it closed. There was no lock or anything, and she rubbed at her nose for a second as she looked at it, then she grinned.
The pins slid back easily, and she pulled at the panel, swinging it open at the bottom. A moment later it moved farther as it was pushed from the outside, and Kira scuttled back out of the way as Faith leaned inside. The older girl gave her an incredulous look, and she waved a hand at the tray beside her.
"I was going to bring you something, but would you rather pick out what you want yourself?"
Faith smiled and gave a little laugh.
"You bet I would." She climbed up and through the opening, dropping to the floor inside the kitchen with barely a sound. She lowered the swinging panel until it hung closed, then scooped Kira up off the counter and set her down beside her, pulling her against her hip in a brief hug.
"Outstanding work, short stuff. Thanks."
Kira beamed up at her friend, then followed her as she crossed the room towards the open refrigerator.
"You're welcome."
* * * * *
Faith finished putting together her second sandwich and immediately tore into it. Funny how good bologna and bread could taste after getting fed through a tube for a few months. About halfway through it, her stomach gave her a warning twinge, and she slowed down a little.
"Guess I should take it easy until I get used to eating again."
Kira nodded, taking a tiny sip of milk from her cup. Faith paused in the act of bringing the gallon jug of orange juice to her lips and gave her a long look. The little girl hadn't touched the sandwich she had made, and didn't seem inclined to start on it anytime soon, either.
"Hey. Aren't you going to eat? You're too skinny to skip a free meal."
Kira shrugged.
"I'm not very hungry." She set the sandwich down on the plastic plate in front of Faith. "You can have mine, if you want."
The older girl felt an unexpected touch of concern. The kid had helped her out; people had done favors for Faith before, but usually only because they wanted something from her, or because she had forced them into it. This was the first time in a long time that somebody had gone out of their way to lend her a hand. The least she could do was make sure the girl didn't starve.
"All right, no sandwich. How about some of this cheese?" She picked up a piece from her plate, peeling away the thin layer of clear plastic. "Mmm, individually wrapped, delicious cheese." She leaned forward to wave the slice in front of the girl's nose, which prompted a giggle from Kira.
"Okay. Cheese is good." She took it from Faith's hand and began nibbling on one corner. It was a start.
"Let me tell you something. Cheese is better than good; cheese is great. Take it from someone whose lived on the street." She started eating the sandwich again; taking her time between bites so her stomach could accommodate the incoming food. It felt like her belly was warming to its task, clearing space for more sustenance with admirable speed. That was good; she had a lot of weight to put back on before she was back where she was supposed to be. "When you're digging through a dumpster for something to eat, you don't want to try something that's spoiled. That'll get you sick. Cheese doesn't spoil very easy. Sure, it gets all dried up and hard, but you can still eat it. And even then, it tastes like cheese." She took another long drink of juice, and she could practically feel the stuff going to work. All that IV stuff might keep you alive, but real food was much better when it came to getting you back on your feet.
Kira had eaten about half the slice she was working on before stopping to stare at the older girl, a disbelieving expression on her face.
"Ewww! You ate food from dumpsters?"
Faith nodded. Two sandwiches down now. She dug her hand into the bag of chips beside her and pulled out a fistful. "The second time I ran away from the foster family." She crammed the chips in her mouth, then chewed and swallowed as fast as she could so that she could continue speaking. "Sorry. Anyway, yeah. I was out there for five months before my Wat-- Before somebody found me. It was either scrounge, or do some other stuff to make money. Not that I didn't do some of that, too."
She found herself falling back into her memories of that time, and that was not something she ever did by choice. That was before she had become a Slayer; before she had been anything but what other people had forced her to be. She shook it off with an effort, pulling her mind back to the here and now. Whatever she was at this moment, it was something that she had chosen. Nobody could force her. Not anymore.
Speaking of forcing.... Kira had tossed the rest of her cheese behind a cabinet when she thought Faith wasn't watching.
"I saw that. Come on, eat something!"
The little girl just sat there, fidgeting. Giving a little growl, the Slayer stood and went to investigate the third big refrigerator. They hadn't looked in this one yet, and when she pulled open the doors Faith couldn't help but grin.
"Jackpot. Look, it's desert!"
Lots of closely spaced shelves lined the interior, each with dozens of little bowls or plastic-wrapped plates.
"How about some pudding. You like pudding?" She looked over her shoulder at Kira, but the girl just gave a shrug. Disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm, Faith scanned the selection. "Hey, pumpkin pie." She pulled out several of the little serving plates of that for herself; she'd loved that stuff. The only time she'd had it was soon after she had arrived in Sunnydale. It had been during one of the handful of times she'd been invited to eat at Buffy's house, before things started... screw that. She'd gotten over that stuff a long time ago. "Jello. There we go." She pulled out three bowls of the jiggling cubes, then used her foot to kick the doors shut. Moving back to where Kira sat, she eased down into a sitting position next to her, placing a bowl in her hands.
"Eat that. It's not really food, but you need to get something inside you." The girl opened her mouth to say no, but the Slayer cut her off. "Eat. Remember; there's always room for jello." Kira looked puzzled. Obviously she had never heard that one before. Faith sighed, then dug into her first piece of pie.
* * * * *