Chapter eight
The telephone's repetitive tone was momentarily drowned out by the sound of the door collapsing inwards on the end of Buffy's foot: its hinges ripping splinters from the frame as they gave way to the onslaught. The Slayer stood in the doorway only a few seconds, hands on hips: long enough to discern the location of the phone. She strode forward, ignoring the two vampires waiting for her. They took a few more seconds to respond before standing as one, demon countenances morphing from human faces.
"Sorry, no time to fight or exchange smart remarks," she said not halting her advance on the telephone.
The two visitors from Hell blocked her way; their faces a picture of perverted evil out for some fun. The petite figure approaching them pulled a machete from its holster slung on her back. In one motion she swung the blade low from right to left opening the stomach of one adversary. She followed this with a diagonal upward sweep of her arm, cutting an equally messy gash to the other vampire from hip to shoulder. Both monsters crumpled to the floor: their innards merging into one tidy mess. Buffy nonchalantly stepped over the floundering bodies and picked up the receiver.
"You took longer than I expected," a voice spoke straight away. "If you're tiring already, this is not going to be as much fun as I hoped."
"I'll try harder next time. Locks and occupants tend to get in my way."
"You ain't seen nothing yet."
"Oh please don't do that," Buffy sighed dramatically. "Slang from the mouth of an Englishman grates on the ear. Tell me, is this another Council test or a sick way of seeing me off."
"The Watcher's Council haven't the courage or the resolve to be so severe. It takes a man more committed to ensuring there is an effective weapon out there against the hordes from Hell….."
"Be careful now, you're starting to reveal your insanity. Now, let me talk to Willow."
"Still making demands, I see."
"I'm still a teenager, so sue me."
"I'm fine, Buffy," Willow's voice barely reached Buffy's hearing.
"The next leg of your journey takes you underground. Some close quarter fighting should be exhilarating, or rather hot and sweaty and poorly ventilated. Go to the intersection of the sewers where Main Street meets the North South road. You'll find a message in a bottle giving directions to your next location. Have fun or have a heart attack, whatever."
"Buffy, please don't…." Willow screamed before she could finish. Her captor hung up the phone.
Buffy put the receiver back. She wiped the gore off her blade and replaced it in its holder and left the building.
When she reached the road, Buffy looked left and right getting her bearings. She satisfied herself which direction Main Street lay and picked out the nearest manhole cover. Taking no notice of passers by who may find it odd, she lifted off the cover and descended into the bowels of Sunnydale, where the other half lived.
The demon's highway was lit by bare light bulbs crudely but efficiently strung along the ceiling at intervals; close enough to light the way, but not enough to prevent shadows. The sense of mystery and suspense that pervaded could almost have been intentional.
Buffy afforded herself a minutes rest. Her mind, however, was not so generous. She recalled the night she had entered the labyrinth of tunnels to face the Master. She had been determined to defy the prophecy then, but equally prepared to die if necessary. Now the Master was dead and she had been given five years of life since. Had she reached her natural life span? "Just one more night will suffice," she uttered into the gloom ahead.
She walked for what seemed like a mile. Her eyes were now accustomed to the poor light and she no longer gagged at the stench of Sunnydale's waste. She knew she was close when she heard voices up ahead. She turned a bend in the road above and faced several horned monsters dredged up from a child's worse nightmare. She counted eight, all taller than her. She laughed at the last thought. It wasn't hard after all to be taller than her. She wondered whether she was the shortest slayer ever.
"You know why I'm here," she spoke to the tunnel's guards. "I don't suppose you'd let me pass. I promise to return later to fight, if you want." They advanced as one, or rather in twos as the tunnel was only wide enough for a pair at a time. Once again she pulled the blade from its holster. The front rank lunged for the Slayer. She swung left and right with blade. It hit both sides of the tunnel on its journey from side to side, causing sparks to fly as metal hit stone. One demon let out a low agonising wail as it clutched the stump where a hand had existed before. Blood escaped through the wound at pressure, mingling with the six-inch deep water that flowed along the floor of the tunnel. It splattered against the wall and over Buffy's blouse. She followed through the attack with a stabbing motion to the victim's chest. The blade hit slight resistance as the demon's skin was like leather and the machete wasn't designed for stabbing. One down, seven to go.
She pulled the blade from the demon's stomach, the effort to extricate the weapon from its ribcage requiring two hands on the hilt. Still holding it thus, she jumped in the air and swung the machete with all the force she could muster and sliced the head off the second. She landed back on the ground and didn't wait for a response from its companions. Taking the fight to them she rammed the next two with her shoulder. One went down into the slime with Buffy on top of him. Lying on her back on its stomach she backward elbowed it in the face and held up the machete as another lunge forward, taking the monster in the chest. Before the latter could fall on her, however, she twisted the blade to the left causing the dead weight to fall to the side. Buffy leapt off the first demon and pulled the blade out. The first demon recovered from the elbow strike but only enough to see it's killer drive her weapon through its heart. Three down, five to go, she mentally counted.
The others stood a respectful distance back, stunned at the ferocity of the fight. They had seen three companions killed in fewer minutes. They backed away, each one fearful to take the initiative. The Slayer seemed possessed. She held up her blade and charged, a berserker cry escaping her slight frame. She reached them before they could turn and escape. The blade glinted silver and bloody as it passed downwards through the rays of light emitted by the bulbs hanging from the ceiling. It then disappeared into shadows on the upward swings. Some sweeps of the metal were indiscernible when Buffy hit and smashed some of the bulbs.
One demon fell to the floor shorn in half by a two handed swing. A second fell clutching its innards as a result of the return swing. A third demon managed to get in a strike to Buffy's body. She lifted off the floor and flew two feet backwards into the effluent. Un-fazed by the impact, she flipped up to a standing position and continued her advance unyielding.
The one who had struck her lost its legs below the knees and almost gratefully took its deathblow. Its nearest companion backed up to the wall and begged for several seconds before it met its fate. The last demon took flight. Buffy gave chase. She turned a corner to find her quarry standing where the two roads above met. He held a bottle in his hand. "Is this what you want?" He uttered, defiantly standing his ground before his inevitable killer. He smashed it against the side of the tunnel.
"No!" Buffy screamed. She threw the machete full force. It embedded itself half way deep in the demons chest, but too late to prevent it from tearing the paper and releasing the fragments into the water below.