(no subject)
It's beginning to get dark. I'm lying in Buffy's old bed, my eyes closed, and the bedroom door clicks open.
"Knew you'd come, pet," I say. I open my eyes. Buffy is standing at the door.
"I'll never leave you, Spike," she says, walking across the room towards me. "I've come to give you what you've wanted."
I take her in my arms. I notice her skin is dirty. She smells of mud and decay. I look at her face. It's still beautiful, but the stench of death is coming off her.
"Not sure I want this now, pet," I say.
"Oh come on, Spike," she says, smiling up at me. "You've been sleeping in my grave with me for years. Why not make it official?"
I look behind me, and the bed has turned into an open grave.
"No!" I say, but then I'm falling...
I wake and Dawn is sitting on the end of the bed.
"You shouted in your sleep," she says.
"Sorry 'bout that," I say.
"Don't worry," she shrugs. "I wasn't sleeping." She slides across the bed towards me.
"What are you doing, pet?" I ask, alarmed.
"What you want me to do," she says, leaning in towards me, her lips hovering over mine, and I pull her into my arms and bite down hard on her neck. I feel her hands fluttering against me, but my arms are too strong, and eventually she stops moving.
***
I woke up panting. I could almost taste Dawn's blood in my mouth, the dream was that potent. And as for the weird grave dream... I shuddered and got out of bed. I looked out of the window. The sun was going down.
I pulled on my clothes and stepped into the bathroom and splashed my face with water. The cool feel of it calmed me down a bit. I walked through the house.
"Dawn?" I called cautiously. There was no answer. Maybe she wasn't back from school, if she even went to school now. Willow's room seemed to be empty too.
I headed downstairs. Now the panic of my dream had passed, I felt my hunger rising. I hadn't fed last night, and the desire for blood was thick in the back of my throat. Soon it would be all I could think about.
There was a pad of paper in the kitchen. I scribbled a note to Dawn on it:
Gone out for a bit, pet. I'll be back later tonight.
I wondered if Willow would see it and decided I didn't care. Sod her. She'd done nothing good for Dawn these past three years, and by the look of things had done a lot that was bad.
I walked out into the town, feeling my tread become lighter, the step of a hunter. Everyone I passed now was potential prey. Should I really be here with Dawn when I was like this now? I could break her neck in a heartbeat. She wouldn't even have time to scream. I could tell myself I wouldn't hurt her... But was that true? I didn't know. And Dawn was different now. I'd imagined we could go back to how things were, but both of us had changed. Maybe too much for things to be the same again. I'd wanted a family again, Dawn as the little sis I could lead astray, but in a safe, staying up late kind of way. Not in the hard, cold way she seemed to have gone astray with no help from me.
The streets were busy. People were going home from work, and others were getting in their shopping. I saw a girl, about Dawn's age. She had the same long hair, but her face wasn't as pretty. A shopping bag swung in one hand, and she held a mobile phone to her ear with the other. The phone was pink, as were her nails, and she wore a plaid skirt. She was, I supposed, as Dawn might have looked if the scooby gang hadn't screwed everything up. She stepped into an alleyway, probably to take a short cut. Bad idea, little girl.
I approached her slowly. It occurred to me that I hadn't killed a girl this young in a long time. Because of Dawn. Another Summers woman making me weak. I touched the girl lightly on the shoulder. She turned, and her face showed a little surprise, and beneath that, the first traces of fear.
"Say goodbye to your friend, pet," I said softly. Her eyes widened, and she started walking away. I followed, my step quickening. She began to run, and the phone bounced out of her hand and onto the concrete. The tinny sound of her friend's voice echoed out of it.
It was too easy, really. Within a moment I had caught up with her, my hand around her waist, and before she could call out I let my face shift and I bit down.
Her blood poured into my mouth. I could feel her heart pumping desperately. The irony of it was that her fear made her pulse quicken, which fed me faster. The rush of the taste made my knees tremble. I crushed her to me, feeling her hands scrabble against my chest, and then she was still.
I laid her on the ground and straightened up. Now she was dead she didn't look much like Dawn at all. She was just another girl, and the taste in my mouth was sour.
"Knew you'd come, pet," I say. I open my eyes. Buffy is standing at the door.
"I'll never leave you, Spike," she says, walking across the room towards me. "I've come to give you what you've wanted."
I take her in my arms. I notice her skin is dirty. She smells of mud and decay. I look at her face. It's still beautiful, but the stench of death is coming off her.
"Not sure I want this now, pet," I say.
"Oh come on, Spike," she says, smiling up at me. "You've been sleeping in my grave with me for years. Why not make it official?"
I look behind me, and the bed has turned into an open grave.
"No!" I say, but then I'm falling...
I wake and Dawn is sitting on the end of the bed.
"You shouted in your sleep," she says.
"Sorry 'bout that," I say.
"Don't worry," she shrugs. "I wasn't sleeping." She slides across the bed towards me.
"What are you doing, pet?" I ask, alarmed.
"What you want me to do," she says, leaning in towards me, her lips hovering over mine, and I pull her into my arms and bite down hard on her neck. I feel her hands fluttering against me, but my arms are too strong, and eventually she stops moving.
***
I woke up panting. I could almost taste Dawn's blood in my mouth, the dream was that potent. And as for the weird grave dream... I shuddered and got out of bed. I looked out of the window. The sun was going down.
I pulled on my clothes and stepped into the bathroom and splashed my face with water. The cool feel of it calmed me down a bit. I walked through the house.
"Dawn?" I called cautiously. There was no answer. Maybe she wasn't back from school, if she even went to school now. Willow's room seemed to be empty too.
I headed downstairs. Now the panic of my dream had passed, I felt my hunger rising. I hadn't fed last night, and the desire for blood was thick in the back of my throat. Soon it would be all I could think about.
There was a pad of paper in the kitchen. I scribbled a note to Dawn on it:
Gone out for a bit, pet. I'll be back later tonight.
I wondered if Willow would see it and decided I didn't care. Sod her. She'd done nothing good for Dawn these past three years, and by the look of things had done a lot that was bad.
I walked out into the town, feeling my tread become lighter, the step of a hunter. Everyone I passed now was potential prey. Should I really be here with Dawn when I was like this now? I could break her neck in a heartbeat. She wouldn't even have time to scream. I could tell myself I wouldn't hurt her... But was that true? I didn't know. And Dawn was different now. I'd imagined we could go back to how things were, but both of us had changed. Maybe too much for things to be the same again. I'd wanted a family again, Dawn as the little sis I could lead astray, but in a safe, staying up late kind of way. Not in the hard, cold way she seemed to have gone astray with no help from me.
The streets were busy. People were going home from work, and others were getting in their shopping. I saw a girl, about Dawn's age. She had the same long hair, but her face wasn't as pretty. A shopping bag swung in one hand, and she held a mobile phone to her ear with the other. The phone was pink, as were her nails, and she wore a plaid skirt. She was, I supposed, as Dawn might have looked if the scooby gang hadn't screwed everything up. She stepped into an alleyway, probably to take a short cut. Bad idea, little girl.
I approached her slowly. It occurred to me that I hadn't killed a girl this young in a long time. Because of Dawn. Another Summers woman making me weak. I touched the girl lightly on the shoulder. She turned, and her face showed a little surprise, and beneath that, the first traces of fear.
"Say goodbye to your friend, pet," I said softly. Her eyes widened, and she started walking away. I followed, my step quickening. She began to run, and the phone bounced out of her hand and onto the concrete. The tinny sound of her friend's voice echoed out of it.
It was too easy, really. Within a moment I had caught up with her, my hand around her waist, and before she could call out I let my face shift and I bit down.
Her blood poured into my mouth. I could feel her heart pumping desperately. The irony of it was that her fear made her pulse quicken, which fed me faster. The rush of the taste made my knees tremble. I crushed her to me, feeling her hands scrabble against my chest, and then she was still.
I laid her on the ground and straightened up. Now she was dead she didn't look much like Dawn at all. She was just another girl, and the taste in my mouth was sour.