Toy Soldiers - XIII
'Ten soldiers wisely led will beat a hundred without a head' - Euripides
Buffy moved through the darkness with a practiced stealth. Angel was at her side, his cool fingers enclosed around her own, whilst a decidedly nervous Willow brought up the rear of the party. Neither the Slayer nor the vampire made a sound as they patrolled the deserted back alleys of the city, but Willow found that it took all of her focus to keep the noise of her footfalls to a minimum. The heels of her boots seemed to unintentionally locate every shard of glass and foil packet that littered the ground, and she had seriously begun contemplating going barefoot for fear she would sooner or later betray their presence.
"How you holding up, Will?" Buffy hissed, shooting a brief backward glance at her friend, who was busily picking her way across a minefield of debris. Willow shot Buffy a tentative smile and shrugged.
"Swell," she mouthed, refusing even to utter a syllable unless absolutely necessary.
Buffy nodded and glanced at Angel, who wore an uneasy expression that he hardly bothered attempting to mask. Buffy grinned despite the situation and dug Angel in the ribs. He visibly jumped and, as he massaged his chest, shot Buffy a questioning glance which she answered simply with an arched blonde eyebrow.
"So, any ideas on this field producing whosamawhatsit?" Buffy demanded, her gaze sweeping from Angel to Willow and back again. Both of her companions regarded her with similar expressions of embarrassed ignorance. Buffy shook her head and sighed before pressing her right shoulder once more against the wall of the building at her side and proceeding to slink down the alley. The passage was scarcely wide enough to allow two individuals to walk abreast and so Angel trailed in Buffy's wake whenever possible, slightly appeased by the fact that his position afforded him the opportunity to watch the Slayer's back.
As Buffy progressed through the alley, Angel found his eyes drawn to an altogether different region of her body that was swathed rather snugly in flattering blue denim jeans. Angel's lips curved into a lascivious grin, which left his features rather abruptly as he found himself suddenly stumbling. His hands shot out instinctively and his palms connected with the cold redbrick wall at his side. Angel recovered his composure quickly and turned to direct a glance at Willow, who merely peered back at the vampire with a smile. Angel was sure that his near tumble was not due to his own error in judging the terrain.
"Oops," the witch uttered, her fingers fluttering as her hand drifted to her mouth in a girlishly innocent gesture. As understanding washed over him, Angel blushed and swallowed hard. He cast his eyes downward and chose the safer option of scrutinising the ground.
Angel found himself almost running into Buffy as the Slayer halted suddenly without warning, every muscle in her body tensed as though she was poised to spring at any second. Behind him Willow also stopped and Angel became acutely aware of her heavy, almost laboured breathing on the back of his neck. He could taste her fear, and yet he knew beyond all doubt that Willow would remain unshakeable in the face of the battle that was to come.
"Buffy, what is it?" Angel demanded, his eyes frantically sweeping the perimeter. He drew back against the wall and assumed a defensive position, both hands raised before him in readiness for the attack. As seconds were lost to minutes, none came, yet Buffy remained rooted to the spot in which she stood. The breeze licked at tendrils of her hair and whipped it around her face like a golden fan.
"Don't you hear that?" Buffy demanded, finally turning to regard Angel and Willow. Angel remained motionless and strained his ears in order to pinpoint the sound that was troubling the Slayer. Somewhere in the distance, although he was unable to discern exactly how far, Angel could hear the faint smattering of rapid gunfire. He growled low in his throat and immediately his hand sought Buffy's. He heard her erratic heartbeat begin to steady somewhat as their skin connected and for whatever reason Willow allowed them the moment.
"Willow?" Buffy pressed. The witch simply shook her head, reluctant to admit that any sound emanating from the distance was being drowned out by the clamour of the damned souls that still plagued her ears. Upon returning to the surface, Buffy had seemed oblivious to the still resonating screams, perhaps so consumed by focus for their task that there was little room in her mind for anything else. After walking for some minutes with her teeth gritted and her hands clamped over her ears, Willow had been able to muffle the din within her mind somewhat. The shrieks had subsided to a dull chorus of sobbing and the occasional wail, which had crippled Willow's hearing significantly but allowed her to at least function. She felt as though she were attempting to listen to music underwater as she tried to pick out her friend's words.
"It's gunfire," Angel answered with confidence, his voice rising slightly in volume as he realised that they were likely nearing the scene of a fray.
Buffy nodded her agreement, chewing on her lip as she pondered the situation. Realisation dawned on her swiftly, and Buffy slapped a palm to her forehead.
"Damn it," she muttered, raking her fingers through her hair and beginning to pull it into a sloppy ponytail using the band she always wore on her wrist for such occasions. Angel could tell that she was anticipating a fight, and shot the Slayer a questioning stare.
"Soldiers parachuted into L.A. when the energy field was down," Buffy explained, rolling her eyes in evident disdain as she wondered what impact the military had possibly thought they may have on the creatures that roamed the city. Angel nodded, understanding Buffy's albeit limited explanation.
"We're going to help them?" Willow questioned, squinting at Buffy in apparent confusion. "But we need to find whatever's sustaining the energy field."
"We'll do both," Buffy promised, squeezing the top of Willow's arm in reassurance. "I can't just leave those guys to the slaughter. They have no idea what they're up against."
Willow considered this for a moment, knowing that this war was unlike any other these men had entered into before. She nodded her agreement and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger as she often did when anxious. Buffy noticed the tiny sparks of blue light that danced on the tips of the witch's fingers, and shuddered involuntarily.
"Let's go," Angel shouted before taking off into the distance, the tails of his coat flapping behind him as he moved at inhuman speed, "before there's no-one left to rescue."
Buffy plunged through the alley on Angel's heels, shivering a little as a thrill of exhilaration swept through her body. Willow broke into a run a few seconds later, panting as she pushed her body to its maximum capabilities. She soon found herself at least ten metres behind Angel and Buffy, and so slowed her pace just a little to allow herself to recover her breath. As they drew closer to the location of the battle, the gunfire grew louder and was soon accompanied by the fevered screams of grown men in the throes of gruesome deaths.
Angel ran out of the alley way and directly into the darkened street, which was dominated by a cinema complex on one side and a pizza parlour on the other. In the midst of the two buildings, four men stood bravely facing down two demons that Buffy could not recall having ever encountered before. The monsters stood on two legs, although were forced into a slightly stooped position by the weight of the giant pincers that served as their arms. They reminded Buffy somewhat of lobsters, although their legs and upper torsos were vaguely reminiscent of the human men they were currently attacking. Their skin was almost translucent, and Buffy thought that she could just about make out their internal organs working away within them. One of the creatures lunged towards a tall man decked out in camouflage gear, and in an instant his head had disappeared inside the demon's beak-like maw. His comrades screamed in a combination of rage and horror, and another round of bullets was emptied into the lobster demon's body. The man's decapitated corpse slumped to the ground and the creature turned it's attention to the remaining men. Hunger was the only emotion present in the monster's beady black eyes and, as it started towards the two men chattering shrilly, Angel launched himself at the thing.
Buffy instantly tackled the second creature, throwing her arms around it's legs and driving it to the ground. She had no weapons on her person and not the faintest idea of how to kill the creature, but since she could now see it's orange heart pumping away within it's chest cavity, she decided to try her luck at destroying it. Buffy rolled onto her side and grabbed a plank of wood that lay on the ground. At first, she used it to swing at the demon and deter it's advances, waiting for it to raise itself somewhat and allow her a clear shot at it's heart. Suddenly, it struck out at her with a giant claw, catching her stomach slightly. However, Buffy had already rammed the wood home, and the demon fell to its knees with it's beak and eyes wide open. It took only seconds to die, and Buffy wasted no time in sharing the information with Angel, who was embroiled in a fight with the second demon whilst the soldiers cowered behind a burnt out car. Buffy spied the bodies of at least two other men sprawled on the street, both decapitated and currently being fed off by several ravenous vamps. Clearly this was what the starving vampire population of Los Angeles had been reduced to.
Willow was in the process of dispatching the vampires, and Buffy pushed her sleeves up in preparation to aid her friend. She had almost crossed the street when something small darted across her path. Buffy paused, having been about to kick out at the thing, when she realised that it was a small and scruffy tabby cat. The cat peered inquisitively up at the Slayer and mewed, it's eyes large and trusting. Buffy was momentarily entranced, and found herself reaching down to pet the animal, who moved into the palm of her hand and purred loudly. It was then that Buffy noticed the collar around the cat's neck, or more specifically, the red nugget that hung from it. In the darkness, the stone glowed a warm amber colour, throbbing every second like a heartbeat.
"The forcefield," Buffy mumbled, reaching to pluck the piece of harmless looking rock from the cat's neck.
"Slayer," the cat hissed clearly, it's eyes flashing crimson as it swiped at Buffy's outstretched hand with it's claws. Buffy gasped and recoiled.
In an instant, the cat's body began to shudder and convulse, and the feline suddenly floated a foot from the ground, yowling in apparent pain. Buffy watched with horror as the cat's petite body swelled until the creature was the size of a tiger. It's orange fur shimmered and gave way to a coarse coat of black hair. As Buffy blinked, a pair of leathery wings erupted from the animal's sinewy shoulders, and fangs that would put a sabre-tooth to shame pushed their way out of the demon's upper gums. Buffy swallowed hard as the animal was set back on it's paws, which were now almost the size of Buffy's entire head. It surveyed her hungrily, all traces of it's previous intellect erased by the transformation. With a roar that shook the foundations of the buildings around them, Sage lunged for Buffy's throat.