Black Friday: Chapter One + What I Have Become
Okay, so, I promised to post this like bakc on the 8th and then I... didn't... well, here it is, finally, the first official chapter of 'Black Friday', my Apocalypse The OC/Supernatural/OTH/Buffy crossover. Click the 'Black Friday' tag to read the prologue, or the 'lostboys' tag to read the original one shot that started this universe plus the extra oneshot that had Ryan meeting Ellen for the first time. It'll help this make more sense if you've read those first.
Chapter One + What I Have Become
Somewhere in Texas
One Year Later
"Let's go see if the Ghost Town actually has ghosts you said," Ryan Atwood said mockingly as he glanced across the front seat of the Impala. "It'll be fun you said."
"Okay, so not so much with the fun," Dean Winchester replied, shrugging. "But come on, that saloon girl totally wanted you!"
"First of all, she was dead," Ryan said between clenched teeth. "Second, she was missing half her face. Third... she was dead!"
"Details, details," Dean said, grinning. "She was probably hot when she was alive."
"Until she had half her face blown off," Ryan replied, annoyed.
Dean chuckled. "Come on, loosen up, man!"
"A ghost hooker with half a face wanted to have sex with me," Ryan said. "And that's the best offer I've had in a long time."
"You're not even 17, you shouldn't be getting offers," Dean replied.
"You're quoting Ellen now?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"She has a point."
"How old were you?"
Dean was silent for several long moments. "Well... that's different, I'm screwed up."
"And I'm the poster child for stability?"
"Good point," Dean said.
Ryan shook his head, unable to stay annoyed as he began to chuckle. "I hate you," he said.
"Feeling's mutual," Dean agreed, lightly smacking Ryan in the chest. After a few seconds of quiet, he spoke again. "So, a week until your birthday... anything you wanna do?"
"Sleep in a bed that doesn't smell like piss?"
"Good, because Ellen wanted us to stop by, I think she has a gift for you," Dean said.
"When were you gonna warn me?" Ryan asked, suspiscious.
"When we pulled up," Dean replied with a grin.
"Ass."
"Bitch." Sometime in the past year, Dean had come to see Ryan as more than just the stubborn, shattered teenager who'd demanded to come along. Instead, Ryan was his brother almost as much as Sammy had been. The two argued and watched eachother's backs, made fun of eachother and supported eachother. In all ways but blood, they were brothers, and it felt good to have a new brother.
"I'm sure that would just break Sammy's heart. If it hadn't been crushed inside his chest."
Dean slammed on the breaks as he saw Sam's face in the rearview mirror, smirking coldly. "What the..."
"Dean?" Ryan asked, one hand braced on the dashboard as he stared in shock and confusion.
"Well, tell him Dean, about how your dead brother's in the back seat," Sam said, leaning towards Ryan. "You know, this one is special. More than Sam was, I mean. He's got so much untapped potential, all it's gonna take is the four linking up. The Seer, the two Protectors, and the Light. We're a little behind, haven't killed even one of you pathetic four yet. Or rather... pathetic three. He wants Ryan alive... weak, but alive..." Sam continued, reaching out a hand towards Ryan's confused and worried face.
"Don't touch him," Dean growled.
"Dean?" Ryan asked again.
"There's something in the back, looks like Sammy but there's no way in hell that's my brother."
"Good guess," Sam said. "See, I'm weak now, can't do what I used to be able to do. God damn Slayers took care of that. But I can do this, Dean. Or maybe I should try another face, one just for Ryan..."
Suddenly, Sam's features changed to those of a woman with blonde hair and blues eyes, and Ryan jumped, eyes widening as he saw her. "Kirsten?" he whispered.
"Not her," Dean said firmly. "What the hell are you?" he asked the shifting thing.
"The call me The First," it said, voice haughty and cruel. "As in The First Evil. Mother and Father of all evil." It turned back to Ryan, reaching out a hand to touch his cheek but stopping just before it touched him. "I could give them back to you, Ryan. Me and my children will give you everything."
"For what?" Ryan replied, trying to keep his composure. "My soul?"
"Nothing so... cliche," it said as it morphed into Seth. "Come on, Ry, don't you miss them. Don't you wanna be back in the living room, on the Playstation with Seth, waiting for Summer and Marissa to come over? Back when you're biggest worry was whether Marissa would ever stop being a cocktease and you could get laid?"
"Leave us alone," Dean said, splashing holy water only to have nothing happen.
"I'd have to actually be here for that to work, Dean," The First said as it morphed again, this time into Mary, Dean's long dead mother. "Let me have him, and I can give you back your whole family. Ma and Pa Winchester, little Sammy..."
Dean distantly heard Ryan start to mutter something in Latin, and after a moment the thing disappeared. "Good work," Dean said, still staring at where it had been. When he finally looked at Ryan, he saw the boy had turned his head away, but he could just barely make out the tears falling. "Let's get going, maybe Bobby knows something about this First thing."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chicago, Illinois
Radley Motel
Brooke stepped in front of the mirror in the dingy bathroom of her dingy motel room, a towel wrapped around her body as she reached out to wipe the condesation off the mirror, then stared at her reflection. Just a year before, she'd always tried to look perfect, her absolute best. Then something had happened and Peyton had tried to kill her and her own parents had put her in a psychiatric hospital, and she'd been stuck there until she broke out. Now, all she cared about was hiding the scar that ran from the point where her neck met her shoulders to a point halfway down her chest, thick and obvious even if the lousy lighting in the bathroom. Her parents had wanted to have it fixed, but she'd refused, prefering to keep it as a reminded that she wasn't crazy, that it had all happened.
"Oh, Brooke."
Brooke flinched, and caught sight of Peyton standing in the doorway.
"If you'd only held still it would have ended fast, and she never would have died," Peyton said. "But no, you had to try to run, and make her fall down the stairs."
"Leave me alone," Brooke whispered, turning and walking right through the girl she knew wasn't really there. "I know you're not Peyton."
"You're so broken, Brooke. Just the way I like it," the figure said, suddenly changing to look like Lucas. "You like this one better? You got him killed, too. Running to him after you got free."
"Go away," Brooke said, squeezing her eyes shut and scrambling through a drawer for the rosary beads she'd gotten from a pastor in Minnesota, the one who'd told her all about demon Possession, and about Hunters, and had tried to convince her to go to a place in Nebraska where Hunters frequented, a place where she could find help and safety with a woman named Ellen. But Brooke hadn't listened, she'd gone the opposite direction, to Chicago, and now she almost regretted it. She turned, holding the beads in her hand and beginning to repeat the simple Prayer that Pastor Jim had taught her. "Go back to hell, bitch," she concluded.
"Sorry, I was never there," it said, morphing again into a woman Brooke had never seen before, red haired and smirking. "But you'll learn what it's like soon enough. Fire and brimstone, little girl. It's coming, and you defied me so you will suffer."
"Fuck off," Brooke said.
It laughed, then disappeared in an instant, leaving Brooke to stare at where it had been until she rushed for her bag, grabbing for clothes to get dressed and get the hell out of that place. Maybe she'd try the other place, the one that sent the short blonde woman to talk to her at the hospital, the one in Cleveland.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cleveland, Ohio
The Summers School
"We lost contact with our girl in Newport," Willow said as everyone gathered around the conference table.
"Maybe she got tired of reporting in 'the sun is shining and all is well'," Buffy suggested.
"She's not answering her cell, and this girl always answers her cell," Faith replied from where she sat slumped in a chair, feet on the table. "She knows better, ever since she figured out it was a demon that killed her boyfriend and most of his family, she knows Newport isn't all sun and fun."
"You think something happened to her?" Xander asked.
"Summer's tough, even without Slayer strength, she'd kick ass," Faith said, dropping her feet to the floor and leaning forward. "But something is seriously wrong."
"We heard from Wesley today," Giles said, glancing away out the window. "Newport has been a hub of activity recently, and he thinks the Vampires may have... may have taken over."
"Taken over?" Buffy asked. "Why didn't they..."
"Territorial thing," Giles replied with a sigh. "They wanted to handle it themselves, but even Angel and Spike have admitted it's too much for them to do alone."
"Why the hell do the Vamps keep choosing southern California, with it's 350 days of sun a year, to be their nests?" Xander asked.
"I know not why, my one eyed friend," Faith said. "But Summer's on my team, I'm going after her."
"Faith, we have more pressing concerns," Giles said. "The girl we've been looking for, the one from North Carolina. She may be in Chicago..."
"A girl who may be in Chicago, or an entire town that has been taken over and where we know there's a missing Slayer?" Faith said, pretending to think. "Tough choice there, Giles." She got to her feet and grabbed her leather jacket off the back of the chair. "Send someone else to get your crazy Slayer, because I pick my girl."
"Faith, wait!" Giles called as she left the room, yanking on her jacket and pulling her hair out from under it.
She made it to the parking garage before Xander caught up with her, his one remaining eye showing acceptance rather than annoyance or condemnation like she expected she would have seen on the faces of the others. "What?" she asked him.
"Be careful," Xander said. "I'll try to get them to send a squad or two out there to help..."
"You're sweet, Xander, but I'm not gonna sleep with you again, no matter how much you suck up," she teased as she placed a quick kiss on his cheek then climbed on her motorcycle. "But I'll be careful. It's the vamps that better watch out."
"I almost feel sorry for them," Xander agreed, nodding.
Faith grinned as she yanked on her helmet and started the engine, peeling out of her designated spot and making a quick turn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newport Beach, California
The Baitshop
The place had been the perfect death trap, and it had become the holding pen for those the vampires captured but weren't ready to kill yet.
Summer Roberts slowly moved through the crush of bodies to the blonde girl she'd found herself counting as a friend, and crouched down to put the fresh bandages on the wound in the other girl's leg. "How you doing, Alex?" she asked.
Alex Kelly shrugged, flinching as Summer put presure on the wound. "Been better and really wish I could say I've been worse, but it'd be a lie."
Summer tried to smile, but failed miserable. "Don't worry, as soon as they realize I haven't checked in, they'll come for me, and they'll save everyone."
"Somehow, I don't see myself making it that long," Alex replied, her face pale. "Do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Make sure someone kills that skinny little bitch who did this," Alex said, gesturing at her leg.
"I'll stake her myself," Summer replied, voice choking up. "She used to be my best friend, but I know it's not really her anymore. Marissa died the night those things showed up."
"The red haired whore, too," Alex said. "I'd love to know she was dust."
"I'll do my best," Summer promised. "But hang on, okay? Just a little longer and..."
"I'm trying, we'll see," Alex replied. "But if I don't make it, I'm glad I got to meet you, Summer. I'm glad you told me what this shit going on is."
"End of the world," Summer whispered. "I..."
"What?"
"What if I never get to tell Chino that I didn't mean it? I said horrible things to him, that it was his fault that his family died, that he should be dead and not them... what if I never get the chance to tell him I didn't mean any of it?"
"I'm sure he knows," Alex replied, reaching to take Summer's hand and squeeze it.
"I hope you're right, but somehow, I doubt it," Summer replied, moving to sit beside Alex right before a commotion began near the doors. "What now?" she asked, pushing her way through the crowd to the railing on the upper floor so she could look down. The crowd was parting, and... there. Marissa Cooper, or the thing that had been Marissa, was moving through the crowd, a dozen other vampies surrounding her and growling at anyone who didn't move. They had all become cattle, and Summer was tired of it. "The bitch is back," she said, turning to Alex, who was pushing herself to her feet.
"I want the blonde," Marissa yelled. "The one who ran this place before. The person who hands her to me gets to leave and not worry about my kind ever again."
Summer's eyes widened as she stared at Alex, who stepped back as those around them converged. "No!" Summer screamed, trying to fight her way through to Alex's side, but being kept back by dozens of people as Alex was hauled down the stairs and presented to Marissa. She managed to get herself back to the railing and stared down, watching as Marissa reached out to run her fingers through Alex's hair.
"What about my reward?" the man who'd actually pushed Alex into the circle of Vampires asked.
"Give it to him," Marissa ordered flippantly, smiling with glee as one of the vampires grabbed the man and twisted his head to oneside, teeth sinking in as he began to drain the man of blood while the crowd watched in silent shock and horror. "He was greedy," Marissa said as she grabbed Alex by the back of the enck and started pulling the injured girl towards the door. "See you all soon," she called over her shoulder before turning in the doorway to look up, zeroing in on Summer and licking her lips. "Mom says I can have you myself, Slayer," she said with a grin. "We'll be best friends again, as soon as you're like me."
"Even without a soul I'll stake you in your sleep!" Summer yelled back, making Marissa laugh as she left. The doors slammed shut and they all heard them being chained closed again. Summer bowed her head in grief, tears falling, then rounded on the other people on the upper level. "I hope you all rot in hell," she said. "Alex would have died to protect any of you, and I hope you die a horrible, painful, bloody death."
She shoved past them again to curl up in the spot Alex had sat in, shaking with surpressed rage and sobs. They were all going to die in this place, and there was nothing she could do to stop it unless someone came to save them. "Please, come," she whispered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newport Beach, California
The Nichols Mansion
Caleb Nichols knew he was going to die. Not neccesarily from his wounds because the thing that had once been his wife was always careful not to cause too much damage while torturing him, but because he was trying her patience with his continued refusal to tell her anything about where Ryan could be found. Julie was getting frustrated, and whoever... whatever... was pulling the strings was getting angry.
But Caleb knew that whatever they wanted his only remaining grandchild for, it couldn't be good, so he wasn't about to tell them anything, even though he didn't know that much. All he knew... or at least, all he hoped is true... was that the man Ryan was with would protect him with his life and Ryan would stay safe. There was something special about the boy, Caleb had begun to see that after the fire, when he'd remembered Kirsten telling him about Ryan having nightmares about fires and how she'd thought it was because of the model home, though she didn't understand the man with the yellow eyes.
It was only later, after the fire, when Caleb had found Ryan strapped to a bed in the psych ward and the doctors had told him it was because Ryan was ranting about a man with yellow eyes, and later than that when Ryan had told him what he'd learned about demons, that Caleb had figured out at least some of it. And he'd be dead before he let anyone find the only grandchild he had left, the only family now that Hailey was one of those who sat at Julie's side, watching and licking her lips as Caleb was tortured, clearly enjoying the show. He only hoped that someone would kill Hailey and put her out of her misery.
And maybe that same person could put him out of his own, he hoped as the door to the room he'd been chained up in opened and some of Julie's henchmen stepped inside to collect him.
End Of Chapter One
Go To Chapter Two
Chapter One + What I Have Become
Somewhere in Texas
One Year Later
"Let's go see if the Ghost Town actually has ghosts you said," Ryan Atwood said mockingly as he glanced across the front seat of the Impala. "It'll be fun you said."
"Okay, so not so much with the fun," Dean Winchester replied, shrugging. "But come on, that saloon girl totally wanted you!"
"First of all, she was dead," Ryan said between clenched teeth. "Second, she was missing half her face. Third... she was dead!"
"Details, details," Dean said, grinning. "She was probably hot when she was alive."
"Until she had half her face blown off," Ryan replied, annoyed.
Dean chuckled. "Come on, loosen up, man!"
"A ghost hooker with half a face wanted to have sex with me," Ryan said. "And that's the best offer I've had in a long time."
"You're not even 17, you shouldn't be getting offers," Dean replied.
"You're quoting Ellen now?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"She has a point."
"How old were you?"
Dean was silent for several long moments. "Well... that's different, I'm screwed up."
"And I'm the poster child for stability?"
"Good point," Dean said.
Ryan shook his head, unable to stay annoyed as he began to chuckle. "I hate you," he said.
"Feeling's mutual," Dean agreed, lightly smacking Ryan in the chest. After a few seconds of quiet, he spoke again. "So, a week until your birthday... anything you wanna do?"
"Sleep in a bed that doesn't smell like piss?"
"Good, because Ellen wanted us to stop by, I think she has a gift for you," Dean said.
"When were you gonna warn me?" Ryan asked, suspiscious.
"When we pulled up," Dean replied with a grin.
"Ass."
"Bitch." Sometime in the past year, Dean had come to see Ryan as more than just the stubborn, shattered teenager who'd demanded to come along. Instead, Ryan was his brother almost as much as Sammy had been. The two argued and watched eachother's backs, made fun of eachother and supported eachother. In all ways but blood, they were brothers, and it felt good to have a new brother.
"I'm sure that would just break Sammy's heart. If it hadn't been crushed inside his chest."
Dean slammed on the breaks as he saw Sam's face in the rearview mirror, smirking coldly. "What the..."
"Dean?" Ryan asked, one hand braced on the dashboard as he stared in shock and confusion.
"Well, tell him Dean, about how your dead brother's in the back seat," Sam said, leaning towards Ryan. "You know, this one is special. More than Sam was, I mean. He's got so much untapped potential, all it's gonna take is the four linking up. The Seer, the two Protectors, and the Light. We're a little behind, haven't killed even one of you pathetic four yet. Or rather... pathetic three. He wants Ryan alive... weak, but alive..." Sam continued, reaching out a hand towards Ryan's confused and worried face.
"Don't touch him," Dean growled.
"Dean?" Ryan asked again.
"There's something in the back, looks like Sammy but there's no way in hell that's my brother."
"Good guess," Sam said. "See, I'm weak now, can't do what I used to be able to do. God damn Slayers took care of that. But I can do this, Dean. Or maybe I should try another face, one just for Ryan..."
Suddenly, Sam's features changed to those of a woman with blonde hair and blues eyes, and Ryan jumped, eyes widening as he saw her. "Kirsten?" he whispered.
"Not her," Dean said firmly. "What the hell are you?" he asked the shifting thing.
"The call me The First," it said, voice haughty and cruel. "As in The First Evil. Mother and Father of all evil." It turned back to Ryan, reaching out a hand to touch his cheek but stopping just before it touched him. "I could give them back to you, Ryan. Me and my children will give you everything."
"For what?" Ryan replied, trying to keep his composure. "My soul?"
"Nothing so... cliche," it said as it morphed into Seth. "Come on, Ry, don't you miss them. Don't you wanna be back in the living room, on the Playstation with Seth, waiting for Summer and Marissa to come over? Back when you're biggest worry was whether Marissa would ever stop being a cocktease and you could get laid?"
"Leave us alone," Dean said, splashing holy water only to have nothing happen.
"I'd have to actually be here for that to work, Dean," The First said as it morphed again, this time into Mary, Dean's long dead mother. "Let me have him, and I can give you back your whole family. Ma and Pa Winchester, little Sammy..."
Dean distantly heard Ryan start to mutter something in Latin, and after a moment the thing disappeared. "Good work," Dean said, still staring at where it had been. When he finally looked at Ryan, he saw the boy had turned his head away, but he could just barely make out the tears falling. "Let's get going, maybe Bobby knows something about this First thing."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chicago, Illinois
Radley Motel
Brooke stepped in front of the mirror in the dingy bathroom of her dingy motel room, a towel wrapped around her body as she reached out to wipe the condesation off the mirror, then stared at her reflection. Just a year before, she'd always tried to look perfect, her absolute best. Then something had happened and Peyton had tried to kill her and her own parents had put her in a psychiatric hospital, and she'd been stuck there until she broke out. Now, all she cared about was hiding the scar that ran from the point where her neck met her shoulders to a point halfway down her chest, thick and obvious even if the lousy lighting in the bathroom. Her parents had wanted to have it fixed, but she'd refused, prefering to keep it as a reminded that she wasn't crazy, that it had all happened.
"Oh, Brooke."
Brooke flinched, and caught sight of Peyton standing in the doorway.
"If you'd only held still it would have ended fast, and she never would have died," Peyton said. "But no, you had to try to run, and make her fall down the stairs."
"Leave me alone," Brooke whispered, turning and walking right through the girl she knew wasn't really there. "I know you're not Peyton."
"You're so broken, Brooke. Just the way I like it," the figure said, suddenly changing to look like Lucas. "You like this one better? You got him killed, too. Running to him after you got free."
"Go away," Brooke said, squeezing her eyes shut and scrambling through a drawer for the rosary beads she'd gotten from a pastor in Minnesota, the one who'd told her all about demon Possession, and about Hunters, and had tried to convince her to go to a place in Nebraska where Hunters frequented, a place where she could find help and safety with a woman named Ellen. But Brooke hadn't listened, she'd gone the opposite direction, to Chicago, and now she almost regretted it. She turned, holding the beads in her hand and beginning to repeat the simple Prayer that Pastor Jim had taught her. "Go back to hell, bitch," she concluded.
"Sorry, I was never there," it said, morphing again into a woman Brooke had never seen before, red haired and smirking. "But you'll learn what it's like soon enough. Fire and brimstone, little girl. It's coming, and you defied me so you will suffer."
"Fuck off," Brooke said.
It laughed, then disappeared in an instant, leaving Brooke to stare at where it had been until she rushed for her bag, grabbing for clothes to get dressed and get the hell out of that place. Maybe she'd try the other place, the one that sent the short blonde woman to talk to her at the hospital, the one in Cleveland.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cleveland, Ohio
The Summers School
"We lost contact with our girl in Newport," Willow said as everyone gathered around the conference table.
"Maybe she got tired of reporting in 'the sun is shining and all is well'," Buffy suggested.
"She's not answering her cell, and this girl always answers her cell," Faith replied from where she sat slumped in a chair, feet on the table. "She knows better, ever since she figured out it was a demon that killed her boyfriend and most of his family, she knows Newport isn't all sun and fun."
"You think something happened to her?" Xander asked.
"Summer's tough, even without Slayer strength, she'd kick ass," Faith said, dropping her feet to the floor and leaning forward. "But something is seriously wrong."
"We heard from Wesley today," Giles said, glancing away out the window. "Newport has been a hub of activity recently, and he thinks the Vampires may have... may have taken over."
"Taken over?" Buffy asked. "Why didn't they..."
"Territorial thing," Giles replied with a sigh. "They wanted to handle it themselves, but even Angel and Spike have admitted it's too much for them to do alone."
"Why the hell do the Vamps keep choosing southern California, with it's 350 days of sun a year, to be their nests?" Xander asked.
"I know not why, my one eyed friend," Faith said. "But Summer's on my team, I'm going after her."
"Faith, we have more pressing concerns," Giles said. "The girl we've been looking for, the one from North Carolina. She may be in Chicago..."
"A girl who may be in Chicago, or an entire town that has been taken over and where we know there's a missing Slayer?" Faith said, pretending to think. "Tough choice there, Giles." She got to her feet and grabbed her leather jacket off the back of the chair. "Send someone else to get your crazy Slayer, because I pick my girl."
"Faith, wait!" Giles called as she left the room, yanking on her jacket and pulling her hair out from under it.
She made it to the parking garage before Xander caught up with her, his one remaining eye showing acceptance rather than annoyance or condemnation like she expected she would have seen on the faces of the others. "What?" she asked him.
"Be careful," Xander said. "I'll try to get them to send a squad or two out there to help..."
"You're sweet, Xander, but I'm not gonna sleep with you again, no matter how much you suck up," she teased as she placed a quick kiss on his cheek then climbed on her motorcycle. "But I'll be careful. It's the vamps that better watch out."
"I almost feel sorry for them," Xander agreed, nodding.
Faith grinned as she yanked on her helmet and started the engine, peeling out of her designated spot and making a quick turn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newport Beach, California
The Baitshop
The place had been the perfect death trap, and it had become the holding pen for those the vampires captured but weren't ready to kill yet.
Summer Roberts slowly moved through the crush of bodies to the blonde girl she'd found herself counting as a friend, and crouched down to put the fresh bandages on the wound in the other girl's leg. "How you doing, Alex?" she asked.
Alex Kelly shrugged, flinching as Summer put presure on the wound. "Been better and really wish I could say I've been worse, but it'd be a lie."
Summer tried to smile, but failed miserable. "Don't worry, as soon as they realize I haven't checked in, they'll come for me, and they'll save everyone."
"Somehow, I don't see myself making it that long," Alex replied, her face pale. "Do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Make sure someone kills that skinny little bitch who did this," Alex said, gesturing at her leg.
"I'll stake her myself," Summer replied, voice choking up. "She used to be my best friend, but I know it's not really her anymore. Marissa died the night those things showed up."
"The red haired whore, too," Alex said. "I'd love to know she was dust."
"I'll do my best," Summer promised. "But hang on, okay? Just a little longer and..."
"I'm trying, we'll see," Alex replied. "But if I don't make it, I'm glad I got to meet you, Summer. I'm glad you told me what this shit going on is."
"End of the world," Summer whispered. "I..."
"What?"
"What if I never get to tell Chino that I didn't mean it? I said horrible things to him, that it was his fault that his family died, that he should be dead and not them... what if I never get the chance to tell him I didn't mean any of it?"
"I'm sure he knows," Alex replied, reaching to take Summer's hand and squeeze it.
"I hope you're right, but somehow, I doubt it," Summer replied, moving to sit beside Alex right before a commotion began near the doors. "What now?" she asked, pushing her way through the crowd to the railing on the upper floor so she could look down. The crowd was parting, and... there. Marissa Cooper, or the thing that had been Marissa, was moving through the crowd, a dozen other vampies surrounding her and growling at anyone who didn't move. They had all become cattle, and Summer was tired of it. "The bitch is back," she said, turning to Alex, who was pushing herself to her feet.
"I want the blonde," Marissa yelled. "The one who ran this place before. The person who hands her to me gets to leave and not worry about my kind ever again."
Summer's eyes widened as she stared at Alex, who stepped back as those around them converged. "No!" Summer screamed, trying to fight her way through to Alex's side, but being kept back by dozens of people as Alex was hauled down the stairs and presented to Marissa. She managed to get herself back to the railing and stared down, watching as Marissa reached out to run her fingers through Alex's hair.
"What about my reward?" the man who'd actually pushed Alex into the circle of Vampires asked.
"Give it to him," Marissa ordered flippantly, smiling with glee as one of the vampires grabbed the man and twisted his head to oneside, teeth sinking in as he began to drain the man of blood while the crowd watched in silent shock and horror. "He was greedy," Marissa said as she grabbed Alex by the back of the enck and started pulling the injured girl towards the door. "See you all soon," she called over her shoulder before turning in the doorway to look up, zeroing in on Summer and licking her lips. "Mom says I can have you myself, Slayer," she said with a grin. "We'll be best friends again, as soon as you're like me."
"Even without a soul I'll stake you in your sleep!" Summer yelled back, making Marissa laugh as she left. The doors slammed shut and they all heard them being chained closed again. Summer bowed her head in grief, tears falling, then rounded on the other people on the upper level. "I hope you all rot in hell," she said. "Alex would have died to protect any of you, and I hope you die a horrible, painful, bloody death."
She shoved past them again to curl up in the spot Alex had sat in, shaking with surpressed rage and sobs. They were all going to die in this place, and there was nothing she could do to stop it unless someone came to save them. "Please, come," she whispered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newport Beach, California
The Nichols Mansion
Caleb Nichols knew he was going to die. Not neccesarily from his wounds because the thing that had once been his wife was always careful not to cause too much damage while torturing him, but because he was trying her patience with his continued refusal to tell her anything about where Ryan could be found. Julie was getting frustrated, and whoever... whatever... was pulling the strings was getting angry.
But Caleb knew that whatever they wanted his only remaining grandchild for, it couldn't be good, so he wasn't about to tell them anything, even though he didn't know that much. All he knew... or at least, all he hoped is true... was that the man Ryan was with would protect him with his life and Ryan would stay safe. There was something special about the boy, Caleb had begun to see that after the fire, when he'd remembered Kirsten telling him about Ryan having nightmares about fires and how she'd thought it was because of the model home, though she didn't understand the man with the yellow eyes.
It was only later, after the fire, when Caleb had found Ryan strapped to a bed in the psych ward and the doctors had told him it was because Ryan was ranting about a man with yellow eyes, and later than that when Ryan had told him what he'd learned about demons, that Caleb had figured out at least some of it. And he'd be dead before he let anyone find the only grandchild he had left, the only family now that Hailey was one of those who sat at Julie's side, watching and licking her lips as Caleb was tortured, clearly enjoying the show. He only hoped that someone would kill Hailey and put her out of her misery.
And maybe that same person could put him out of his own, he hoped as the door to the room he'd been chained up in opened and some of Julie's henchmen stepped inside to collect him.
End Of Chapter One
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