Chapter 8
Author's notes: Yes, I am still alive and still working on this story. There's been a lot going on in my life and I took a long hiatus from writing, but I am glad that I am getting back into it. As always, questions, praise, criticism and any kind of feedback are most welcome.
Karen's Home, Tree Hill, North Carolina
20 August 1999 – 07:25 EDT
Xander arrived back at Karen's house and entered through the kitchen door, fully prepared to be yelled at for staying out all night. Lucas and his mom were sitting at the kitchen counter and Karen looked up from her cup of coffee and smiled at him. "There you are. Do you feel better? Lucas told me that you didn't sleep well and went for a walk this morning."
Lucas gave Xander a knowing look of Don't blow this and get me in trouble, and Xander cleared his throat and nodded. "Yeah, thanks. Helped me clear my head a little."
Karen nodded and was about to say something when the phone rang. "This is Karen," she answered. "Sure, hold on a moment, Keith," she said with a smile and excused herself to the living room.
He watched her leave the room and, when she was gone, pulled out the manila envelope with his military file from under his jacket and set it down on the counter as he sat down on the stool next to Lucas. Got lucky on that one, he thought. "Hey Lucas, thanks for covering for me," he whispered.
"No problem. I'm just glad you came back on time before that lie blew up in my face. But I'm curious. Where the heck were you? And what's that," Lucas asked, pointing at the envelope.
Xander shook his head. "It's complicated. I don't think you'd understand." He laughed sadly. "I'm not even sure I do. But last night, after that party, I was reminded of a couple of things from home that I'm not very proud of. I had a…" he hesitated, struggling to find the proper word. Yeah, what word would do Faith justice? Is there even such a thing? Crush? Yeah, big time, but too one-sided. Lover? I don't think she looked at it this way. Became quite clear when she kicked me out of the motel room in my underwear. Fellow ass-kicker? Hell yeah. But in the end, what really mattered was… "…friend," he continued. "I wasn't there for her when she needed me most, and I will never get the chance to make that up to her. So when I realized that there was someone else last night that reminded me of her and that needed some help, I tried to do the right thing and take care of her."
"That friend you are talking about back home, is that the infamous Buffy?" Lucas prodded.
"No," Xander answered solemnly. "That's a whole different story."
"Unless you can tell it in under a minute I'm afraid we'll have to pick this up another time. I'm about to miss the bus," Lucas said after peeking at his watch. He got up and grabbed his backpack. "See you tonight at the café," he asked?
"You bet," Xander said and watched Lucas leave, his thoughts drifting back to the events of the previous night.
Sunnydale College, Sunnydale, California
20 August 1999 – 11:39 PDT
Willow was typing away on an email when a pop-up window opened on her screen, reading QueenC requests a private chat with you.
"Cordelia!" Willow called out in surprise and accepted the invitation.
Willowisp: Hey Cordelia! How's life in Los Angeles?
QueenC: It's great. So much better than in Sunnydale. How are you?
Willowisp: I'm ok. Things are different now that people are gone. We haven't heard anything from Xander, and I hope he's ok. Have you by any chance heard from him?
QueenC: Well, I promised Angel I wouldn't say anything, but I think you should know. Don't freak out, but I think Xander is in trouble. It seems he pissed off some vampires in North Carolina and Angel flew there to meet with some other people to help him. And now I haven't heard from Angel in a few days, too, and I'm just not sure what's going on.
Willowisp: What? This is Xander we are talking about, how can he get in trouble with vampires? He doesn't have Buffy or me to back him up; he is all alone out there. He can't handle this kind of thing. Oh my God, what if something happened to him? Maybe that's why I can't find him with the locator spell. OMG!
QueenC: Willow, calm down. He's not alone. Angel and his friends are there, and I know they'll make sure he's alright. All I know is that Angel went to a place called Tree Hill in North Carolina. If you can't find Xander, then maybe you can find Angel?
Willowisp: Thanks, Cordelia. I'm sorry, I gotta go. I'll let you know if I find out anything.
Willow stared at the screen, the news sinking in. Breathe, she told herself, trying to calm down her quickly beating heart. I think I'm going to be sick. This can't be true.
Her gaze moved off the screen to the phone on her desk. She quickly grabbed it and dialed the number from memory. After a couple of beeps, the line was picked up. "Hey, Wills. What's going on," Buffy asked.
"We need to talk to Giles immediately. I just chatted with Cordelia and she told me that Xander is in big trouble and that Angel knew about it and then flew to North Carolina to try and help him and he also had some friends that were there and now Cordelia has not heard from Angel either and she doesn't know what's going on and she promised Angel not to tell anyone but now she did…
"WILLOW, CALM DOWN," Buffy shouted into the phone, trying to stop her rambling friend. "I'm sure he's ok. pause I somehow would know if he weren't. Let's meet at Giles' right now. I'll see you there, ok?"
"Ok, Buffy. See you in a few."
Elegance of Lace Boutique, Tree Hill, North Carolina
20 August 1999 – 15:22 EDT
Brooke watched herself in the mirror, critically evaluating the black bustier with purple lace she was trying on while Peyton was watching her, still wearing her normal clothes. After last night, Brooke needed a distraction, and shopping usually did the trick.
"So explain to me how this fixes your karma again," Peyton asked her friend.
"It doesn't but it's a total pick me up, don't you think?" As if to demonstrate her point about the bustier's "pick up" qualities, Brooke lifted her breasts, which elicited a laugh from Peyton.
"Now, try this on," Brooke said and handed Peyton a leopard print top. "Now the karma thing comes next. I figured out a master plan. If I can fix the damage I've done to certain people's love lives, maybe the universe will kick in and fix mine."
"Pretty long list," Peyton called out from inside the dressing room.
"Yeah, and Nathan and Haley are at the top of it. I screwed them over royally last night. Double karma points if I can undo that one." And maybe I get a chance to apologize to Xander for being a bitch this morning, too, if I ever see him again. I don't remember anything about the guy, but somehow he seemed to know me. He was so, I don't know, sincere and genuine. Come to think of it, I still don't know how to handle that. I mean, he broke down my carefully constructed walls with only a few words. No bs, no nothing. Just cutting straight to the point. Do I reveal that much when I'm getting drunk? Brooke pondered.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Peyton came out of the dressing room, sporting the leopard print top. Brooke clapped her hands excitedly. "Fabulous! You know not everybody can pull off the sceezy in the jungle vibe. Now I can fix you up, too."
Peyton laughed and shook her head. "No thanks. I am done with the drama of dating. I just wanna have fun."
"Then you'll be happy to know that I got us invited to a party at Duke tonight, Brooke announced.
Peyton grinned. "So much for you changing your ways."
Brooke gave her a look of pure innocence. "What? You promised to have fun, and I promised to indulge in boys, not booze. And now we have something to wear."
Home of Rupert Giles, Sunnydale, California
20 August 1999 – 12:42 PDT
The door burst open and Buffy stormed into the house. "GILES," she yelled. "WILLOW?"
Rupert Giles shot up from the couch where he had fallen asleep, causing several books to tumble to the ground. Disoriented and sleepy, he tried to compose himself as Buffy quickly entered the living room.
"Gee, Giles, you look terrible. Ever tried sleeping in a pajama instead of a tweed suit," Buffy asked when she saw her disheveled watcher.
"My goodness, Buffy. You almost gave me a heart attack. Did anything happen?"
Before Buffy could answer, Willow came running into the house, almost out of breath. "Oh good, you are here... I was worried you wouldn't make it in time… cause, you see I thought about it on the way over and I'm just panicked… Xander in trouble… I mean, what else is new, but…" she said in between gasps.
Giles, who had just put on his glasses took them off again and started to polish them. Oh my. "Willow, why don't you sit down and catch your breath. Would you like some tea? Or perhaps some water?" When Willow shook her head no, he asked, "What were you trying to say about Alexander? Did you hear from him? Or did your locator spell finally work?"
"No, Cordelia told me that Xander is in North Carolina and that Angel flew there to help him. I don't have a lot of details, but there are some vampires that he got into trouble with. But I don't know much more." Willow looked scared, and her eyes went back and forth between Giles and Buffy.
"We need to go there. We have to help him," Buffy declared, a look of resolve on her face.
"Ah, I don't think that's necessary," Giles said, sighing heavily before continuing. "I spoke with Alexander a couple of days ago, and he was quite alright."
There was a stunned silence as both Buffy and Willow let the news sink in. "Come again," Buffy said. "You've spoken to him and did not even mention it to us?" She took a few steps toward the watcher, her voice growing angrier with every word. "We've been worried sick about him and you have the nerve to keep this from us? How dare you?"
Giles looked Buffy straight in the eye and, not backing down, responded calmly, "I respected his wishes for privacy. And if you want to blame someone for that, you should start looking at yourselves first. Don't you think there is a reason he has not reached out to either of you? You can't treat a friend the way you've been treating him and expect everything to be alright."
Buffy backed up a few feet as she processed Giles' statement. Finally, she said quietly, "You are right. I can't change the past. But I can make sure it won't be this way in the future. I'm going to Tree Hill."
Karen's Café, Tree Hill, North Carolina
20 August 1999 – 21:07 EDT
Xander sat at the back corner table of Karen's Café, deep in thought and listlessly poking at the food on his plate. He had read the file Angel had given him several times, and with every additional detail he uncovered his confusion grew.
While it was clear to him that the documents he had were only parts of the full file, the extent of the information about him was impressive, ranging back all the way to his early teens. He saw transcripts of phone conversations he had, extensive medical records including tests he never remembered taking and that made no sense to him, and perhaps most alarmingly, detailed surveillance records of his activities with Giles, Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies. If this is a hoax, then they did one mighty fine job of pulling it off. But if it's not, then the military, or the government, knows about vampires. And werewolves. And God knows what else. They know, and they aren't doing shit about it. And people die. Innocent people. Good people. Like Jesse.
Xander put down his fork and pushed the plate away. He hadn't thought of his old friend for a while. Funny how that works. I used to think about him every day. Can't even remember how many times I wished I didn't have to kill him. But I guess when you feel so guilty about something that you can't bear it you'll eventually find a way to cope, even if it happens subconsciously.
His train of thought was interrupted when the bell above the door rang and he heard Haley call out "I'll be right with you" from inside the kitchen. He looked up and saw Angel, Theo and a small man of Asian descent entering the café. If he had been in a better mood he would have laughed at just how odd the trio looked. Angel was wearing black jeans, a dark sweater and a black woolen trench coat, looking clearly uncomfortable. Theo was dressed the same way Xander saw him a few nights ago. Black leather pants with heavy biker boots, heavy leather jacket, a black NY Yankees baseball hat, round mirrored sunglasses hiding his eyes and his face a stoic mask that showed no emotions. Xander's trained eyes noticed that both Angel and Theo seemed to be packing more than one gun. The Asian man, in contrast, looked like he raided a 70s second hand shop. His checkered khaki pants featured at least a dozen different shades of brown, red and yellow and were only outdone by his bright orange turtleneck sweater. They noticed Xander and walked over to his table.
"You are early," Xander noted dryly.
"There's no time to waste," Angel replied and looked around the café. It was fairly empty by this hour and the few remaining patrons sat far enough away to not be able to hear them if they kept their voices down. Xander motioned for them to take a seat and they sat down. Seeing the odd trio of vampires, he was glad that Karen had gone home early tonight. He saw Haley come out of the kitchen, eying them curiously from behind the counter. Xander sighed and walked over to her.
"Friends of yours," she asked him. Her voice was steady, but Xander could have sworn he saw some unease in her eyes.
"Just someone I know," he replied. "Listen, I know this whole thing might look strange to you, but I'll explain it to you soon. Just trust me, please. There won't be any trouble or anything here; we are just going to have a talk."
Haley looked at him and cleared her throat. "Ok, Xander. I won't say anything to Karen about this, but you better make that explanation a good one."
Xander nodded at her gratefully. "Thanks. I will."
He walked back to the table with the three vampires and sat down. When his eyes settled on Itio, he asked, "Who are you?"
"My name is Itio. I collect things and uncover secrets that don't want to be found. At your service, Mr. Harris."
When Xander did not respond, Angel cleared his throat and said, "You must have some questions regarding the documents we gave you. I let Itio and Theo speak to that, but I wanted to let you know that there are things going on right now that you might not understand, and that the explanation will likely hurt you. I'm sorry for what you are about to discover, Xander. Things are not what you think they are, and I apologize for my part in the lie you've been caught up in."
Xander laughed bitterly. "How much worse can it get, Angel?" Not waiting for an answer to his question, he shifted his focus to Theo and Itio. Drumming his fingers on the file in front of him, he said, "What going on with this? The military or government is keeping a tab on me? Why? And what is Project Progeny?"
Itio glanced at Theo, who nodded ever so slightly, and then began to speak. "Mr. Harris, have you ever heard of Carly Johnson?" When Xander shook his head, he continued, "What about Jeffrey Malber? Or Brandon Turner?"
"Doesn't ring a bell," Xander admitted. "Should I know them?"
"You tell me. On January 18th, 1992, a 14-year old Carly Johnson started at an indoor track meet for her school in Plainfield, Indiana. According to the official time keeper, she ran the 100 meter sprint in 7.45 seconds, which is almost two and a half seconds faster than the current men's world record. Didn't make the news, though, did it? Jeffrey Malber, a 15-year old student of average capabilities, attended Columbine High School earlier this year when, during an extra-credit chemistry project, he developed a new form of plastic explosive that was twenty times stronger than any previously existing explosive of its kind. And then we have Brandon Turner, an 11-year old kid from Washington State who, six months ago, broke into seven of the highest security-level computers in the country, and he did so with a home computer and a program he had written in under one day. Interesting, isn't it?"
"I don't understand. What does that have to do with me" Xander asked calmly.
"Aha, what indeed," Itio exclaimed excitedly and clapped his hands. "What do they have to do with each other, let alone you," he asked. "That's what the United States Government and Military were wondering, too. After the first few of these types of incidents occurred in the late 80s, the NSA and FBI, along with a special team from NORAD, examined these cases to find a common link. And they did indeed find it. A link that runs all the way to you. It seems all of their fathers shared military duty in a Special Forces unit in Vietnam, a unit that was subjected to top secret medical research experiments. A unit that your father was a part of during his active service.
"My father," Xander asked surprised. I know he served, but he never talked about it. "What kind of medical research were they subjected to," he asked after the news had sunk in.
"Project Sandman evaluated the possibilities of removing the requirement for sleep from soldiers," Itio answered. "A novel concept, actually. If you never needed to sleep or rest, you'd be far superior to your enemy. They actually succeeded in their quest, but there were some unforeseen side effects and the project was eventually disbanded. The soldiers returned home to their family only to realize that they were having significant issues due to the drugs they had taken and no longer had access to. Most of them were sterile, their sperm no longer able to create children. And even though all of them began to suffer from severe bouts of exhaustion, they were still unable to sleep. The suicide rate among the group spiked significantly. Others utilized different means to try and be able to sleep, mostly turning to alcohol. All in all, members of the group only managed to produce a total of 24 children that were born after the return of their fathers from Vietnam. So far, twelve have suddenly started to display extraordinary abilities. The others are under constant surveillance to see when their time will come. You are one of them."
A warehouse near Pier 3, Tree Hill Harbor, Tree Hill, North Carolina
20 August 1999 – 21:22 EDT
The warehouse was brimming with activity as kindred and kine prepared a vast variety of vehicles for the drive to Washington, D.C. Crates full of heavy and automated weapons were opened and distributed to the waiting troops. From an elevated walkway in the middle of the warehouse, Archbishop Francisco Domingo de Polonia surveyed the activities, bellowing out orders and urging his commanders to step up the pace.
A vampire warlord walked up to Polonia and said, "Archbishop, the harbor is secured and safe. No resistance whatsoever. However, the pack that came through here a few days ago to clear the town is still missing, and we have no idea where they are. With your permission, I'd like to take my pack to verify the town is safe."
"It's a waste of time," Polonia said with a heavy Spanish accent. "But if it pleases you, go and check it out. We're moving in 3 hours. You better be back in time."
Karen's Café, Tree Hill, North Carolina
20 August 1999 – 21:27 EDT
"What happened to the ones they caught," Xander asked quietly.
"The military is using them for testing. Human guinea pigs. Their families and friends think they are dead. They will never reappear. The three cases I mentioned earlier disappeared shortly after the respective event and have been in custody since. Witnesses were silenced in a variety of ways, the most public being the staged school shooting at Columbine High School four months ago that was used to cover both the extraction of Mr. Malber, as well as the silencing of any witnesses."
Xander shook his head in disgust, still not sure if he should believe them. "And if that is all true, why wouldn't they just take me in right now," he challenged Itio.
Itio smiled. "You are wise to ask, Mr. Harris. They tried that with several of the remaining subjects. They never displayed any abilities out of the norm once in custody. The military thinks that something will trigger the development of the abilities, and that they can't interfere until that occurs or else they risk that it will never happen. But they are monitoring you all constantly through an implant in the back of your neck that you were given without your knowledge. It transmits your biometric data and position when activated." Itio reached into his pant pockets and brought out a small electronic device that looked like a remote control. He pressed a button and pointed it at Xander. A green light started flashing almost immediately. "And I am afraid to tell you that your chip is active. Which means that the military is likely nearby and watching."
What the fuck, Xander thought. They've been watching us all this time, knowing EVERYTHING that's been going on, but they are just waiting to see if I turn into Superman before some vamps or other supernatural kills me? "So, let me see if I got this right," Xander said after a brief moment of silence. "My choices are to either continue doing what I've been doing, with a good chance of not seeing my next birthday come around, or tap into some unknown superpower, in which case the military will try and catch me to lock me up for the rest of my life?" He studied the three vampires at the table, and when no answer was forthcoming, he said, "I take that as a yes."
"There's something else you need to know," Angel said, eyes downcast at the table in front of him. "Remember how Giles explained that I had a soul? That's a simplistic way of looking at it. We all have a soul, or humanity, or whatever you want to call it when we are turned. We were human, after all. But over time, we are in danger of losing parts of it, until there is nothing left but the beast inside of us. When that happens, we become what you'd like to think we all are – an evil monster that needs to be killed. The way we exist is a choice – we can try to hold on to what we have left inside of us, or we can embrace the thing we have become."
Angel looked at Xander, trying to judge the teen's reaction. Xander just stared at him, the face a stoic mask. "There is a war being waged out there right now between vampires that believe we should live hidden among humankind, in a way that minimizes the harm done to humans, and vampires that believe humans are nothing but cattle and that vampires should rule supreme over them. The violence you've seen on TV the past few weeks is all a part of it."
"Who's winning," Xander asked.
"So far, the other guys. We've lost all the territory south and southwest of here, and they are making the push up the coast as we speak. We had a few packs of vampires coming through this town the past couple of nights, and there is probably more coming."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because we can help each other," Theo said, speaking for the first time. "A quit pro quo, so to speak. We have the means to help you with your problem, if you are willing to help us with ours."
Before Theo could continue, Itio's beeper went off. Itio looked at the message and stood up, turning to go. "We have a pack sighting on the outskirts of town. We need to go."
"If you have people here you care about, you better make sure they get inside, Xander. It's not safe out there at night. We'll be back." With that, Theo and Angel got up and left the café.
River Court, Tree Hill, North Carolina
20 August 1999 – 22:43 EDT
Xander arrived at the River Court slightly out of breath. The run from Karen's Café had taken him a good 20 minutes, and he was convinced he briefly heard gunfire in the remote distance a few minutes ago.
Relieved to see the usual cast of characters in the middle of a pick up game, he scanned the area for signs of trouble as he slowed down and approached the benches where Mouth was watching the game.
Looks calm for now, but how the hell do I get these guys to go home, he thought to himself.
Mouth noticed him and gave him a quick wave. "Hey, X-Man! Here to join the fun?"
"Nah," Xander replied and gave Mouth a fist pump. "Just wanted to make sure you guys were ok. There's been some gang fight nearby and shots were fire, and I heard a police officer say that people should stay inside while they were hunting down these guys. Sounded serious," Xander lied.
"Wow, really," Mouth asked nervously. When Xander nodded, he turned to the players on the court and said, "Hey, guys, you need to hear this!"
Duke University Campus, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
20 August 1999 – 22:47 EDT
Please pick up , Brooke thought. The phone was ringing, each beep seeming to last an eternity. She didn't know who else to call. He had always been kind of nice, and he seemed to like Peyton. Come on , she thought panicked.
She heard the call being picked up. "Lucas, Peyton's in trouble. Somebody drugged her drink and I can't wake her up." Desperation was evident in her voice and she was close to crying.
Lucas' mind was racing. This was clearly not the call he has expected. "Okay, Brooke. Slow down. Where are you?"
"We're on the steps of Chapman Hall," Brooke answered while looking down at her unconscious friend.
"Alright, call the campus police," Lucas suggested, unsure what else to do.
"I can't," Brooke replied. "She's been drinking!"
"Okay, I'll be right there," Lucas reassured her.
"We need to go, Peyton is in trouble," Lucas declared, running to grab his hoody sweater from the bench at the edge of the River Court before heading straight for Keith's tow truck, Xander on his tail.
"What happened," Xander asked as they climbed into the car.
"I'm not sure. Brooke said somebody drugged Peyton and she's not able to wake her up. She was next to tears. It sounded serious."
Xander looked over at Lucas, who was concentrating on the street while speeding through the night toward Duke University. "Brooke? As in Brooke Davis?"
"Yep. You know her," Lucas asked, clearly surprised.
"Yeah, I know her," Xander replied quietly. Well, let's see how well this goes after last night. Then again. This isn't about her, Xander reminded himself. It's about her friend, and if I can help, I will.
Brooke was sitting on the steps outside Chapman Hall, Peyton's head resting against her leg. A young woman walked over to them. "Is your friend okay," she asked concerned.
Brooke looked up at her with teary eyes. "I don't know; she can't stay awake."
The woman crouched down to Peyton's level, speaking directly to her. "Do you know where you are? Do you know your name?"
Peyton opened her eyes temporarily and tried to speak. After a few seconds, she managed to mumble, "Just… dizzy." She closed her eyes again, drifting back to unconsciousness.
The Scott Body Shop truck pulled to a stop at the curb and Lucas and Xander jumped out of the car.
"Brooke," Lucas called out as they ran up the steps.
"Sorry, I didn't know who else to call," Brooke said sadly, her eyes wandering over to Xander. "Oh, hey," she said surprised and somewhat uncomfortable. What is he doing with Lucas?
"Hey, Brooke," Xander replied, giving her a comforting smile. "Is Peyton ok?"
The young woman examining Peyton looked up to them. "She's not drunk. I think he gave her a sedative. We just need to know what it was."
"Okay, Brooke. I need you to show me what room she was in." Lucas demanded. Brooke nodded and started to cry as the reality of the situation hit her.
"No, wait," Xander said, causing everybody to look at him. "I'll go, Luke. This could get ugly, and I don't want you to get in trouble. You stay here with Peyton and take care of her. We'll be back soon." When Lucas was about to protest, Xander took at step toward him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me; you don't want to be there. We'll find whoever drugged her and we'll get the answers we need."
The anger and seriousness came through in Xander's voice, and Lucas gave in. "Ok. But please hurry."
"We will. Brooke, can you please show me the way," Xander asked. Brooke looked at him and nodded. "Ok, let's go," he told her.
They walked silently and, after a couple of minutes, entered a busy dorm, the halls and common areas flooded with partying college students. Music was blasting and people were dancing and drinking everywhere. Brooke wordlessly led Xander through the crowds and stopped in front of a closed door in a hallway. "It's this one," Brooke said, the memory of her helpless friend on the bed with that freak bringing fresh tears to her eyes.
Xander clenched his fists and pounded on the door. "Hey, open the door," he yelled.
"Piss off," he heard a guy call out from inside the room.
"Piss off," Xander repeated incredulously. "You should have opened the door when you had the chance," he muttered under his breath and turned around to a guy leaning at a nearby wall, a drink in hand. "Is this your dorm," he asked him, to which the guy nodded in reply. "Go get your R.A.!" Not waiting for an answer he turned toward the door and kicked it open. The door was ripped from the frame and flew all the way across the bedroom, hitting the opposite wall and shattering into several pieces. Xander entered the room to see a darkly dressed guy jump off the bed in shock.
"What the fuck," the student cursed. "Who are you and what the hell do you want?"
"It's him," Brooke told Xander.
"What did you give her," Xander screamed at him as he moved threateningly toward the guy.
"Just fuck off, asshole," the student spat out and took a swing at Xander. Xander eyes widened and his adrenaline kicked in as he realized the movement for what it was. The quick feeling of panic gave way to comic relief as Xander watched the incoming swing almost in slow motion and easily sidestepped it, letting the fist go past his face before rushing into the guy and slamming him into the closest wall.
"Ouch," the student yelled as his back exploded with pain from the impact. "Look, it was nothing man. Just a roofie, that's it."
"Where are they?" When he got nothing but a defiant stare, Xander grabbed the guy by the shirt and shoved him into the wall again, hard. "Where are they," he repeated. The guy pointed to a small wooden box on a nearby dresser. Xander gave him a look of despise and moved over to retrieve the pills. When he had them, he walked back to the guy who was still leaning on the wall, trying to compose himself.
"You better pray that she'll be okay, because if she's not then I will come back for you. Trust me when I say that you really don't want that happen." With that, Xander turned around and looked at Brooke, who was standing by the door watching him intently. He gave her what he thought was a reassuring smile and started walking when he saw Brooke's gaze moving past him and her eyes growing wide. His brain registered a metallic clicking sound and he started to turn back around. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of light being reflected off of the blade of a jack knife that was coming right at him. Holy shit, Xander thought as he tried to use his turning momentum to get out of harm's way, shifting his weight to his outside foot at the same time his hands moved forward to intercept the arm wielding the weapon that was coming at him way too fast.
The four-inch blade missed its intended target but entered Xander's chest under the right ribcage. Xander felt the burning sensation as the metal slit through his tissue, but oddly felt very little pain. His attacker starred at him triumphantly with hate filled eyes as the knife entered the body all the way to the hilt.
A military installation somewhere under Sunnydale, California
20 August 1999 – 20:25 PDT
"Sir, biometric data for PP-7 just changed significantly. Wow. Delta levels surged past 20,000. I think he's waking up."
"Tell the team to stand by for possible extraction of the target. Almost time to bring him home, boys."
Duke University Campus, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
20 August 1999 – 23:26 EDT
Xander heard Brooke scream his name behind him, but it seemed distant and removed. His gaze was focused on the knife in his chest. Both of his hands enclosed the arm wielding the weapon, and he lifted his head to meet the stare of his attacker. Slowly, Xander started to push forward, his iron grip never wavering as the blade started to slide out of his body again.
"What the fuck," Gabe cursed as he tried with all his might to keep the knife in place. The grip of Xander's hands tightened further as he continued to push the knife out of his body and Gabe started to scream in pain. When the blade was fully out of his body, Xander quickly pushed Gabe's arm sideways, slamming it into the nearby dresser. The sound of several bones shattering was quickly followed by Gabe's howl of pain. Xander let go of Gabe's right arm and brought up his elbow in a circular swing, solidly connecting with Gabe's head. There was a crunching sound as the force of the blow knocked Gabe out, the body going limp and sinking to the floor. Xander looked down his chest and was surprised that there was relatively little blood staining his shirt and that, aside from a burning sensation, he felt little pain.
"Oh my God, Xander, are you ok" he heard Brooke ask from behind as she was rushing over to him.
He covered the wound with his left hand and slowly turned around to face her. "I think so. It doesn't really hurt much, which I guess is good." He looked at the ground and saw the pills he had dropped. He picked them up and looked back at Brooke who was looking at him, clearly concerned and freaked out. "Hey, Brooke. I'll be ok, alright? That goes for Peyton, as well. Let's get out of here, what do you say?"
Brooke nodded and helped Xander through the crowd.