Chapter 9

Will followed Keri's gaze to the card, and then looked back at her, not understanding. "What?"

"Do you think they made it to Yosemite?" she asked. She hurried to the phone. "Do you think they're there?"

This was all happening pretty fast for Will. He was used to dealing with troubled kids. Even in Sunnydale that didn't entail this kind of urgency. "I, don't know." Wait, her sister had been 17 when Michael killed her. Keri had been seventeen when he'd come after her. And now John was...did she think...was it possible?

"I just want to call John." she told Will. "I just want to see..." She picked up the phone and was about to dial, when she realized there was no dial-tone. She clicked the receiver a few times with no luck.

"What's wrong?" Will asked.

"The phone's dead." she told him. She dashed into John's room to try the phone in there, praying it wasn't what she thought it was. That phone too was useless. Then she saw John's bag sitting by his closet door. Checking inside she found his sleeping bag. John had never even left for Yosemite.

Buffy and Faith left the library as Giles called the council. There was a brief lull, then Willow asked;

"Do they know where-"

Buffy and Faith returned. "Where does Ms. Tate live?" Buffy asked.

Giles put down the phone. "Oh dear."

"What's wrong G?" Faith asked.

Before Giles could answer, the library door was yanked open. Cordelia, Willow, and Xander screamed and the Slayers whirled to face the intruder.

"Woah!" Ronnie yelled, holding out his hands.

Buffy and Faith stood down, and looked awkwardly at the security guard.

Giles broke the silence this time. "The phones are out." he said to Ronnie.

"Yeah I know. And there's a strange car parked outside but I can't seem to find any signs of trespassing." He looked at Faith. "You drive?"

"Hell no, I'm a biker chick." she smirked.

"Uh huh." he said, unimpressed. "Biker chicks often carry battle axes?"

"Only to really tough ren faires."

That earned her a small smile in return. He glanced ad Buffy, who was attempting to hide a sword behind her back. "What's your story? Snyder know you guys have this stuff?"

"Pretty sure if he did we'd all be expelled and/or fired." Xander told him.

Giles sighed. "Given the circumstances I don't believe we have time for lengthy explanations." he said. "The full story will have to wait until the threat has passed. Mr. Jones, there is an extremely dangerous individual on the loose, and judging by what you've said, probably somewhere in the school."

Ronnie nodded. "Got it. And you two were gonna hunt 'em down with collectibles?"

"They're perfectly functional." Giles said defensively.

At the same time Buffy said; "We kill monsters."

"A lot of 'em." Faith added.

Ronnie didn't have the time or the patience to argue. Faith certainly looked like the kind of girl you didn't mess with. And if Buffy wasn't just blowing smoke, she probably had some tricks up her sleeve. And he recognized a resolve face when he saw it.

"Guess I won't be able to convince you all to go home or stay put." he said. He drew his gun and checked it.

"Oh we'll stay put." Cordelia said with false cheer. "I'm totally good with hiding until the all clear sounds."

Ronnie looked at the Slayers. "Try not to get in my line of fire. Kay?"

"Chaaaaarlieeee." Sarah called, entering the cafeteria. After bringing the food down to their basement hideaway, Charlie had realized he'd forgotten the wine and come back for it. After several minutes he had not returned. Annoyed, Sarah had come to look for him. "Come on Charlie we're all waitin' for ya." She entered the cafeteria's kitchen, and still saw no sign of her boyfriend.

"Hello, inconsiderate, party of one, your table is ready." No answer. She gave a frustrated sigh. "Hey no sex games until I've eaten okay?"

Charlie did like to do that whole, hiding and jumping out at her thing. Often she enjoyed it, but she was not in the mood right now. Right now she wanted food, wine, good times with friends, and then good times with just her boyfriend.

Turning a corner, she had to stop suddenly or else she would run into the open door of one of the ovens.

"Crap that would've sucked." It was so dark in here. She should have turned on the light.

Fortunately the switch was nearby. "I mean it." she said, to wherever Charlie was hiding. "Not now."

She flipped on the light and turned back to close the oven. Charlie's body was inside, eyes wide with surprise, mouth open. His throat had been cut, and he had barely had time to realize anything had happened before he had died.

Sarah on the other hand...

Her first thought was that this was a really sick joke on Charlie's part. One that would assure him no date with her until there was some serious groveling. But she could smell the blood. And she knew deep down, what happened in Sunnydale, was rarely funny.

She turned to run, only to see her exit blocked. A man stood in the doorway she had just come through. He was dressed like a janitor, save for the mask, and holding a very big knife.

Sarah's shock caused her to hesitate just a bit. Just long enough for the Shape to start towards her. Swiftly, she dove for the counter separating the kitchen from the cafeteria.

If not for the sneeze guard she might have made it.

She was halfway over when she felt the knife carve into her right thigh. Sarah screamed, and wrenched herself forward, pulling the blade from her flesh as she fell to the tile floor on the far side of the counter.

She gasped in shock and pain, but still, her survival instincts drove her on. She tried to rise, hoping she'd be able to at least limp to the cafeteria doors. She had no plan beyond that. But the agony that shot through her leg the moment she put even the slightest weight on it floored her.

Screaming again, she began to crawl across the floor.

Behind her, the masked shape strode calmly after her, a lion stalking a wounded deer. Sarah could hear him behind her, not falling behind, nor catching up. As her life-blood trailed behind her, her mind became fuzzy. She could not tell if she were escaping or not, she could only think that she must keep going. She was almost to the door. Somehow she had eluded her pursuer just long enough. Perhaps once she got out of the cafeteria she would find help.

Just as she reached the door however, the Shape seemed to decide the game was done. With a few quick strides he was upon her, stabbing the knife down into her back over and over. She did not scream again.

"You know those two have been gone awhile." John said mildly, sitting up. Not that he minded the alone time with Molly, but them all hanging out together had been kind of the point.

"What do you think they're doing?" Molly asked mischievously.

"Dunno. Kind of rates a cheap scare don't you think?" he grinned.

The school was dark as they made their way casually up to the cafeteria.

"You think they skipped right to desert?" Molly giggled.

John automatically tried the lights when the entered. His first thought when they didn't turn on was that it was just as well. What had he been thinking? They didn't want Ronnie to find them. Then he started wondering why the lights had not turned on, and a tiny prickle of worry began to form in the back of his mind.

The prickle grew as, when they went further into the room, his foot slid slightly in something wet on the floor.

He glanced down, and saw a trail of a dark, reddish liquid on the tiles, leading into the kitchen.

"What the hell?" The couple began to follow the trail, a bad feeling mounting. "This is a sick joke."

The trail led to the walk in freezer in the back of the kitchen.

I really shouldn't do this. John thought, as he reached out to flip on the light.

This time the light worked, revealing Sarah's body, hanging from one of the hooks dangling from the ceiling.

Molly gasped in horror, and John backed away.

She was right!

Without stopping to think, they turned to run, only to see Sarah's killer step around a corner.

John's heart froze at the sight of the mask he'd heard so much about over the years. He prayed his mother was all right, but he couldn't worry about that now.

Grabbing Molly's arm, he ran from the cafeteria, pulling her along. They pelted down the hallways, but at an intersection Molly had to stop. She had a stitch in her side from dinner.

"What are we going to do?" she sobbed.

John sucked in a breath, trying to get his thoughts together. He was still stuck on; Mom was right. "Okay, we're gonna get to my house," he said, "And we'll call the police."

The shape reached out of the shadows and seized Molly by the hair. She screamed as he pulled her towards him. John leaped to her rescue, punching the masked killer in the face.

The shape released Molly, but gave John a rough shove, pushing him to the floor. The blade of his knife came down, stabbing into the boy's thigh. He brought the knife up, ready to finish the job, when Giles' mace slammed into the back of his head, knocking him away.

Giles didn't waste time. He knew they didn't have long before Michael was up and after them.

"Help him." He ordered Molly. "Get him to the library, hurry."

Molly did as he told her, helping John to his feet and supporting him as they retreated. Giles could barely make out in the dim corridor, Michael Meyers getting to his feet.

He held the mace at the ready as the children entered, with Xander and Oz's added help.

He spun to follow them, only to bump into Keri Tate, who was looking frantic.

"Bugger!" he yelled in surprise.

"Rupert what-" Will asked.

"Not now, get inside!" He shoved them in, barely dodging Michael's swipe with his knife. Keri slammed and locked the door behind him, and froze.

There, framed in the window of the door, was her brother's masked face. She stared, unblinking. Shock overpowered her fear and she found herself actually fascinated for a moment. She stared into those black, devil's eyes for several seconds before she came to her senses.

By the time she'd retrieved her revolver from her pocket and looked back, he was gone.

To be continued...