Prologue

Sunnydale, CA 1998

Drusilla's fingers pressed into Kendra's neck, squeezing hard against the skin, almost pinching her with her sharp talons.

"Look at me, dearie," the vampire said calmly but with a sinister tone to her demeanor.

Kendra struggled with every fiber of her strength but her willpower and her body belonged to the bloodsucker.

"Be in my eyes," Drusilla smirked, her evil gaze transfixed on the Slayer. "Be in me."

With another ounce of determination, the Slayer attempted to fight back but it was no use. Her body failed her. Then with a quick flick of a finger, Kendra felt the sudden rush of pain at her throat, scarlet wetness seeping through her palm as the metallic taste of something red began to drip from her mouth.

Nothing could prepare her for the darkness as her body toppled to the ground.

Silence filled the area. Nothing but whispers and perhaps the crisp feeling of wind all around. Only total blackness surrounded her.

"

Hello?"

She called out but no one, nothing responded. Then the faint flicker of light appeared from across the way. It cut a path toward her as a young woman in a period dress walked in her direction.

"Welcome Kendra." The strange woman said in an American southern dialect as the Slayer made out the image.

"Who are you?" She asked the stranger. "What is dis' place?"

"The Ghost Roads." The mystery woman stated. "The path where honorable warriors, like yourself, go into the afterlife. My name is Lucy Hanover, a Spirit Guardian for Slayers."

"Lucy Hanover?" Kendra questioned, remembering the Slayer name from her studies. "You're da' Slayer from da' Civil War in Virginia! You're a legend from da' Slayer line!"

Lucy blushed. "Ya'll are too sweet. I guess I helped with protecting the world from vampires and demons. It's good to get recognized in the history books." She briefly stopped.. "I suppose you can guess why you're here."

The realization finally hit Kendra. "I'm dead, ain't I?"

Lucy sighed. "I'm sorry, but sadly it's true. You died in battle so a new Slayer now takes your place."

Casting her eyes down, Kendra sheepishly lifted them back up at her fellow warrior. "I failed. I wasn't a good Slayer, after all."

"Don't say that," Lucy frowned as she lifted her chin with her hand. "You were brave."

The newly deceased Slayed sighed. "So, what happens to me now?"

Lucy smiled at her with reassurance. "Normally, I help the fallen Slayers move into the afterlife but you are destined for something more. Something greater."

Kendra cocked her head in confusion. "Someting' greater? I don't understand…"

She was interrupted by someone gently touching her shoulder. Turning around, she saw a mirror image of herself but different. Dressed in trendy clothes and sporting dark curls, her doppleganger smiled at her as she took her hand and squeezed it gently.

"Who? What…are you?" She said to her mystery clone.

Her twin laughed. "I'm you, silly. Just not from your world." Her voice was the same but different. She spoke in a very American accent that differed from her own regional Jamaican patois. "It's time to help your family, Kendra."

"My…family?" She hesitated. She did not have a family ever since her Watcher, Sam Zabuto, took her away from her village when she was very young. She barely had any recollection of them. "What do you mean?"

A rumble shook the Ghost Roads.

"We don't have much time," Lucy told the pair. She turned to the original Kendra. "You have to go!"

Confused, Kendra scrunched her brows. "Go? Go where? I don't understand."

"No time to explain," her twin replied in a panic. "You have to go." She raised her hand to touch Kendra's cheek. Warmth from a bright light illuminated from the doppleganger. "Save my sisters." Her voice trailed off. "Protect your family. Live your life…"

"Wait!" Kendra protested.

The light became more blinding to the point she felt herself falling into it.

San Diego, CA 2022

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The constant monotone sounds of beeping work her up. Her eyes slowly opened; her vision blurred for a few seconds as her eyesight adjusted itself to see a familiar male face in front of her holding a pen light just above the bed she was laying in.

"She's waking up!" The masculine voice announced. "Kendra…Kendra, can you hear me?"

Her eyes settled on the image she instantly recognized.

Mr. Sam Zabuto. Her Watcher. However, this man had a lab coat on instead of a suit that he normally wore.

"Hello, Kendra." Her Watcher introduced himself. "I'm Dr. Zabuto. Do you know where you are?"

She attempted to speak but her throat burned with pain. She quickly looked around, took in the environment and mouthed the words hospital as she clutched the bandaged gauze around her neck.

Mr. Zabuto smiled. "Don't speak, just yet. My name is Dr. Zabuto. Listen, you were in a really bad car accident. Your esophagus was badly crushed so you'll be in a bit of pain for a while." He handed her a small note pad and a pen. "Are you able to write?"

Despite the throbbing pain in her throat, the Slayer slowly nodded. She took the pen and listened for further instructions.

Dr. Zabuto began his interrogation of her. "What is your name?"

She wrote down messily Kendra. Then her last name Young.

Her Watcher smiled again. A bit strange since she has never known Sam Zabuto to ever smile. Then he continued.

"What is the year?"

She quickly scribbled the numbers 1998. He quickly glanced at it and frowned.

"Kendra, how old are you?"

She shrugged at such a ridiculous question. She jotted it down. 16. She had just turned a year older since meeting and assisting fellow Slayer Buffy Summers.

Her response did not please Mr. Zabuto. He paused before speaking. "Do you remember anything before the accident?"

Once again, she was confused. What accident? Was she in a car? Then it hit her. Is she still dead? She looked to the doctor and shook her head.

"I see," he whispered.

Just then, a trio of visitors, two females and one male, entered her room. The first to approach her was a beautiful older woman who appeared to be in her late twenties with short hair.

"Doctor," the woman addressed Zabuto. "Is she alright?"

Mr. Zabuto sighed. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Morris but your sister's throat was badly injured from the accident and she is suffering from some memory loss."

Kendra's eyes widened at the mention of the word sister.

"You're telling me, she has amnesia?" The second woman in long, dark braids chimed in. Like the other female, she too was young, approximately mid twenties, and beautiful. She too got close to the Slayer's hospital bed.

"Is it permanent?" The third stranger, a handsome gentleman about the same age as the first woman, questioned her Watcher.

Mr. Zabuto shrugged. "It's difficult to tell in these matters. She knows her first and last name but she thinks the year is 1998 and that she is sixteen. The rest of her memories are a blur."

"What about her physical well-being?" The first woman asked the doctor.

Mr. Zabuto smiled. "The good news is that physically she came away from the accident with only some minor cuts and scratches. No internal bleeding and no brain damage with the exception of some memory loss which hopefully isn't permanent. A temporary bruised esophagus should heal in a month or so and I believe with some time she'll slowly gain some of her original memories back."

"Thank goodness," replied the second female. "I thought she had lost her memories for good."

"Like I said," the doctor continued. "It's going to take some time. No one walks away from an accident like that without some damage or trauma. I'm surprised she even survived with barely a scratch."

The visiting trio glanced at one another with nervous stares. Kendra could sense something secretive and mysterious about this group. She kept her guard up.

The gentleman turned to her doctor. "When can we take her home?"

"We need a couple days of observation to make sure everything is fine," Dr. Zabuto explained. "In the meantime, you slowly want to work with her to rebuild some of those memories she lost. I could recommend a good specialist that works with memory loss…"

A collective NO echoed in the room. Dr. Zabuto took the hint and excused himself from the room leaving the trio alone with her. Despite not knowing who these strangers were, Kendra did not feel that they were a threat. In fact, they exuded a kind, caring and friendly presence about them.

The first woman with short hair was first to speak. She gently placed her hand on top of the Slayer's for assurance. "Kendra, I know we are all strangers to you but believe me when I say we are not. We're your family. I'm your older sister, Sheila." She then turned to the man next to her. "This is my husband, Darryl. Your brother-in-law."

Darryl nodded and smiled down at her. Kendra shyly looked away. Her Watcher never permitted her to talk to boys.

"And I'm your other older sister, Darcy." The second, pretty woman in braids added. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Kendra's throat burned as she swallowed. She picked up her pad and wrote What happened to me? What accident?

Darryl filled her in. "It was a hit and run. A drunk driver ran a light at an intersection and hit you before taking off. Your car was totaled. It's any surprise you survived the crash…"

Sheila elbowed her spouse for his insensitive remark and gently caressed Kendra's forehead. "We're just happy, you're alive, lil' sis'."

Lil' sis? She scribbled something on the pad. Am I the youngest? How old am I?

Darcy answered her question. "You're twenty-four. I'm twenty-six and the middle child and Sheila is the oldest, twenty-nine."

Twenty-four? Her eyes widened. She had just turned sixteen this year. Once again, she wrote something on her pad. What year is this?

With concern, Sheila turned to her family before answering. "2022."

2022? The Slayer had jumped forward two decades in time into the body of a Kendra Young with two sisters and a brother-in-law. What was she going to do?

Darcy scratched her chin and turned to her younger sister. "Kendra, do you know what a cellphone is?"

Cellphone? Was that code for a regular phone? She shook her head.

"Social media?" Sheila added to the conversation.

Was that a new television thing? Kendra again shook her head.

Darryl exhaled. "Looks like we have our work cut out for us to introduce her to the modern world."

Even with that cutting remark, Kendra had always been studious and adaptable. She welcomed the challenge.

After all, she is the Slayer. And a Slayer is always prepared and ready.