Chapter Nineteen
"B?" Faith says from where she's lying on the mattress on the floor. "Been about an hour, hasn't it?"
"Yeah, about that," I nod, unable to turn around to look at her still. I know she's dressed in dry clothes now, but I still don't trust myself to hold onto my resolve to keep my hands to myself.
"You gonna stand there all day and practically ignore me?"
I turn around and look at her and she raises an eyebrow as she smirks. "I'm not ignoring you. I'm waiting for Kennedy and Satsu to show up."
"I think we got some shit we need to hash out, B."
"Like what?"
"Like..." she trails off as I watch her run her hands over her stomach and up to cup her breasts. I turn back around to face outside and I hear her laugh and get up from the mattress. "B, I'm just fuckin' around with ya right now. I think it's hilarious how much I get under your skin."
"It's not funny, Faith."
"No," she whispers as I close my eyes as she slides her arms around me from behind. "It's not funny. It's hot."
"Faith, don't do this."
"Stop denying what you want, B."
"You have no idea what I want, F."
"I know you want me," she whispers and she presses her lips against the side of my neck lightly. "You told me you're in love with me. Don't think I can just forget about that so easily."
"Faith, stop it," I whisper shakily as she slips her hands under the hem of my t-shirt. "We can't be doing this. Not here. Not now. Not ever again."
Faith sighs softly and backs away much to my surprise. I half expected her to push until I gave in to her advances and as much as I really want to, I can't. I know I can't. I wish I could though and she knows it too. I turn around to face her and find her staring intensely at me, her hands at her sides and clenched into fists.
"You don't mean it, B."
"I do."
"That's bullshit and we both know it," she says under her breath as she steps closer to me. "You can't deny that there's definitely something going on between us. Something that's more than just fucking. I know I said before that it ain't anything more than that, but you got me thinking the last couple of days."
She's definitely giving me a complex right now and my heart and head hurts just thinking about it. But before I can say anything more to her, her lips are on mine, kissing me hungrily as she pulls me hard up against her. Thunder rips through the sky as she pushes me up against the wall, the rotting wood creaking under the sudden force. My hands fly up into her hair and I yank her head back, tearing her lips from mine in an instant. The hunger, the want, the need in her eyes in penetrating and I can feel her body heat up as she subtly grinds her hips into mine. I wonder if she truly knows what's she doing to me right now and from that glint in her eyes as she cocks her head to the side a little; it gives her full intentions away.
"Faith..." I whisper softly, trying to find the words I know I need to say right now.
"I know now ain't the best time to try and deal with this shit, B, but we gotta figure it out. It's driving me crazy."
"Why is it driving you crazy?"
"I don't know, maybe 'cause I want you. I want to be with you. I don't want you being with Satsu when you're supposed to be with me."
"You want to-"
"I want to try," she says before I can finish what I'm saying. "You gonna give me that chance, B?"
If I didn't know any better, I'd say she looks nervous and scared right about now just asking me this. I need to think about this and I know she knows I do. Satsu is great, a sure thing even though we've been going through a...rough patch lately since things with Faith started. But, before I can say anything, I hear Kennedy and Satsu's voices grow closer and I roughly push Faith away from me.
"We'll talk about this later," I say quickly as I straighten out my shirt. "Much later and when we get a chance to be alone."
"Whatever," she mutters as she walks over to the mattress and sits down heavily.
"Hey," Kennedy says as she comes inside the hut and wrings out her wet hair. "Can you believe this rain? This is nuts!"
"How was your...flight?" Faith asks with slight amusement. I look over at Satsu and she looks a little pale. "Lose your lunch on the landing there, Sats?"
"Almost," she groans softly as she sits down in a chair that barely looks like it'd handle the weight of a feather.
"Is Willow okay?" I ask Kennedy as she joins Faith on the mattress.
"She's fine," Kennedy replies. "Took her a bit to get the energy to send us here, but she's okay. Giles wanted me to tell you there's a new plan since after Willow sent you here, she was pretty much drained. It's just the four of us until Giles and the rest of them get a flight out here."
"Great, so we're stuck together for what, ten hours?" Faith asks, rolling her eyes as she lies back on the mattress.
"More. A day," Kennedy replies. "Two at most."
"Did you get in touch with your sister?" I ask Satsu softly as I move to stand next to her.
"No, she didn't answer her phone. I texted her before Willow sent us here," she says as she pulls her cell out of her pocket and checks it. "Nothing yet. I hope she's okay."
The worry in Satsu's voice scares me a little and I grab the other chair and sit down next to her. The storm is still raging wildly outside and I feel less than safe inside this shack. Kennedy and Faith find a deck of cards and start playing war and I can only watch them in mild amusement as I try to forget everything running through my mind. I look over at Satsu and she has a look of extreme boredom in her eyes as she picks at the hole in the knee of her jeans. I reach out for her hand and she flinches and pulls back quickly. I don't even bother to question her about what's bothering her since I don't really care. I get up and join Kennedy and Faith on the bed, watching their game of war as Faith wins nearly every single time.
It's going to be a long day or two before the others show up and I am not looking forward to this. Not at all. I almost wish Faith and I was alone right now, especially with the way she just subtly reached out and placed her hand on my thigh for a moment. The gesture goes unnoticed by Kennedy and Satsu, thankfully, but it left a burning desire deep inside of me for more than just a simple touch.
By the time everyone finally showed up, the rain was still going as strong as ever with no signs of it letting up any time soon. Satsu has been constantly checking her phone and constantly trying to get in touch with her sister with no luck. The shack was far too small for everyone to fit inside and with a quick count; I realize there's now about thirty-two of us overall. It's still not enough. It'll never be enough.
We've already wasted nearly two days and none of us knew just what Falken was up to right now. After everyone got themselves a suitable weapon, we headed out into the rain towards the rock formation half a mile out where the Hellmouth seal was hidden inside a small, shallow cave. A few of the girls complained about the rain, but their complaints went unnoticed by everyone else as we trekked through the muddy, wet trail in the woods. Only Giles, Willow, and Xander had stayed behind, none of them strong enough to fight whatever we might have to face as soon as we reach the Hellmouth.
I look back at Robin who is at the tail end of our group of Slayers. Satsu is back there with him and they are both talking quietly. Faith is walking next to me and she bumps my shoulder with her own until I take my eyes off of Robin and Satsu and look ahead. I can barely see through the torrential downpour but I can make out the three large boulders ahead a couple hundred feet.
"Ready for this, B?" Faith asks as she unsheathes her sword.
"Of course I am ready for this," I reply as I reach for my own sword and I smile at her, wiping away the few strands of wet hair that's fallen over my eyes. "Girls, you ready?" I call out to the others and I receive a chorus of 'yes'. "Let's go."
We make our way quickly to the rock formation and Faith leads the way through a narrow opening between two of the three boulders. The stench of rotting flesh is overwhelming, unbearable, but we push onwards and down the steep tunnel that gets narrower before it branches off in three different directions. Faith, still in the lead, takes the middle passageway and I follow, motioning to the others behind me to split off and go down the other two passageways.
"Faith, do you know where you are going?"
"No clue, B. Going on instinct and by the smell, I'm thinking we're on the right path," she replies in a hushed whisper. "You heard what Giles said about this Hellmouth. Some of the strongest magic in the world is preventing anything from opening it, but who's to say Falken hasn't figured it out."
Only five of the girls are with us, Satsu and Kennedy two of them. They don't say a word as they follow Faith and I deeper into the cave and we come to a stop when the passageway opens up to a small chamber. There are several torches along the walls and in the middle is the Hellmouth seal, very similar to the one in Cleveland and the one that had once been in Sunnydale.
"Ken, go back and get the others, sent a group outside to guard the opening. Nothing comes in or out, ya hear me?" Faith says, taking over the leadership role with ease.
"Buffy," Satsu says under her breath as she stands next to me. "Why is she in charge here?"
"She's not."
"Then why-"
"You wanna take over?" Faith snaps at her as she grips onto her sword tightly. "Be my fuckin' guest, Satsu."
I leave the two of them alone to bicker and I make my way over to the seal cautiously. It's far too quiet down here, the stench is so overpowering, and yet I can't quite figure out where it's coming from. The seal looks intact as I circle around it and I can feel the power emanating from it. It's strong. Stronger than the Cleveland Hellmouth and stronger than the one in Sunnydale had been. The other girls that are with us stand by the passageway, looking ready to bolt any second. I shake my head and circle around the seal once more before walking back over to Faith and Satsu.
"Doesn't look like there's been any activity down here," Satsu says as she looks around. "Aside from the torches that are lit."
"Bonus points for the Asian Slayer for noticing the torches," Faith grumbles as she glares at Satsu. "And you're wrong, Sats. Look," she says as she uses her sword to point to the many footprints in the dirt. "If that ain't a sign of activity, don't know what is."
I look down at the ground, noticing a trail of blood leading over to the furthest wall. I follow it and stop when I reach a cluster of rocks against the wall. I move each one away until a smaller passageway opening appears. I walk inside, not bothering to wait for the others and after a short walk, I come to another room, the stench even stronger now and what I see completely makes me sick to my stomach.
"What's up, B? You find something..." Faith stops short when she walks up behind me. "Fuck."
"Definitely found something."
We look around the small chamber at the dozen humans chained to the walls, some alive, some barely breathing, some dead. Faith grabs the only torch that's burning in here out of the holder on the wall and steps into the center of the circular chamber. My breath catches in my throat when the light fills the room a little more and I see one girl who looks like Satsu's sister, but it's hard to tell with the blood, fresh and dry, on her face.
"Aiko?" I say softly as I walk up to her. She lets out a strangled gasp as I tug on the chains, trying to break her hands free. "Aiko, is that you?"
"Bu-Buffy?"
I try to keep calm as I tug harder on the chains until they snap free from the wall and her arms slump heavily to her sides. I grab onto her before she falls to the ground and I drag her out of there, laying her on the ground about five feet from the seal. Satsu immediately come running over, dropping to her knees and crying uncontrollably as she takes her sister into her arms and hugs her tight.
"B, the others, most of them are dead," Faith whispers softly as she steps up behind me as soon as I get to my feet. "Maybe two are barely alive. We gotta get them outta here now."
"Get them all, dead or alive."
"But-"
"Just do it, Faith!"
I kneel next to Satsu and try to pry her arms away from Aiko. "Satsu, we got to get her out of here."
"I can manage just fine. Help Faith with the others, Buffy."
I shake my head and make my way back to the smaller chamber to help Faith get the others unchained. She barely looks at me as she carefully drags the girls that are dead off to one end of the small chamber and makes her way over to the blue-haired girl that is groaning and sobbing in pain.
"What the fuck you think is going on here, B? Think this is part of Falken's plan to open the Hellmouth? None of these girls are Slayers," Faith says as she get's the blue-haired girl free and I catch her before she collapses hard to the ground. "Yo," she says as she looks down at the girl. "What's your name?"
"Lane."
"You a Slayer?"
"My sister is," she whispers between choked gasp and spits out a mouthful of blood. "Is she here? Is Ronnie here?"
Faith and I only exchange a look and I take Lane out of the smaller chamber. She's breathing heavily and I know she's badly injured. It dawns on me as I help Lane towards the passageway that the other girls that have been chained and beaten could all be related to some of the younger Slayers. Falken has a plan and we've been completely wrong about those plans. I want to give up, surrender, but I know I can't. None of us can. Not until this is over.
It takes us awhile, but we get the girls, both dead and alive, out of the cave. Veronica is beyond herself, clutching her sister close just as a few of the others are. I wipe the blood from my hands on my jeans and look over at Faith as she stands in the mouth of the cave, smoking a cigarette and shaking slightly. Everything feels unreal right now and I'll admit only to myself that I'm more than just a little scared about what is about to happen next. Whatever Falken has up his sleeve, it can't be good and we'll never get one step ahead of his game unless we figure out exactly what game he's playing.
"How fucked up is this?" Kennedy asks me as we stand and watch the younger Slayers take the dead and the injured away from the cave. "What do you think he wanted with them?"
"Don't know," I reply with a heavy sigh. "Ken, go back with the others and tell Giles that Faith and I are sticking around for a little while."
"What if Falken-"
"We can handle it," I cut her off. "Just go."
I stand there in the rain, a couple feet away from Faith and I don't take my eyes off the girls until I can no longer see them in the growing darkness. I join Faith inside the mouth of the cave, the cool wind making my wet clothes feel much cooler than they are against my skin. Faith is silent, staring down at her boots as she takes drag after drag of her cigarette. I don't even need to ask her what's going through her mind; I can just tell she's thinking the same things I am.
I don't know what we're going to do from here on out. I don't know how to stop Falken from doing anything either. I don't even know what he has planned next and why he isn't here when he should be.
Maybe Faith was right before. I should've killed him when I had the chance instead of just slicing off his arm. We wouldn't even be here if I took that chance I had to kill him. We'd be living our lives as we have been the last several years, mostly quiet and full of routine where everything is relatively boring yet almost predictable.
"Well, B, what are we gonna do now? Just wait around and then what?"
"Just wait," I reply as I lean against the cool stone wall and close my eyes. "All we can do is wait."