I opened my eyes slowly. I felt like I should be coughing excessively, because my lungs were filled full of something heavy. But that didn't bother me, strangely. It was very dark, yet I could see perfectly. It was almost as if I were back at the Magic Box, doing inventory as the sunshine streamed through the blinds and made the dust sparkle as I cleaned the Goddess Thespa statue with the microfiber duster Giles kept under the counter. But it was not sunny where I was, and it was not beautiful and sparkly. It was dark, dank, and I could smell the stench of death.
I took my time looking around the space. I could see that I was in some sort of collapsed building. I sat up, and as I moved my leg, I hit something- or someone- and turned to see. There was a dead Bringer, his neck snapped by the thick concrete slab laying against his head. At that moment, I started to remember...
I had been standing in the hall with Andrew, bearing a heavy sword. Adrenaline had coursed through my veins as the thought of using that sword to murder hundreds of bunnies gave me the edge I needed to focus that wrath on whatever came our way in that hallway, whether it be vampires, Bringers, or other beasties. I remember thinking a lot of Xander in those final moments and of the flashes of his face and his beautiful eyes as I lay dying on the floor.
But... I had died. Hadn't I? I mean... I remember feeling something sharp and gasping as I fell to the floor. I knew I was hurt, but didn't know how bad. I had tried to fight but I gave into the darkness around my eyes just so the pain would stop. At least... everything had went all fuzzy and black and isn't that what should happen to you when you die? I mean... I was a vengeance demon for centuries, and I'd inflicted a great deal of death. But here I was, sitting in the middle of a sea of bodies and not feeling dead at all.
I came back to the present, my eyes scanning the room with confusion and wonder. It was then that I noticed him. A tall, handsome young man sitting against the remainder of a pillar. At the same time I noticed him, I realized that the debris around us had formed a small room. It was a chaotic mess of concrete, drywall, dirt, and rocks but we were sitting on what used to be the floor of some building, and the larger chunks of cement supported another larger piece as if they were the walls and the big piece above us was the ceiling. It was archaeic and reminded me of some of the houses in some Hell dimensions I'd been to in my life as a vengeance demon. As I moved to sit up straighter, the young man moved toward me. He walked in a crouch, because he was too tall to stand, and his eyes glowed. I knew instantly what he was. My years in Sunnydale had taught me to recognize a vampire even if I couldn't sense it. He moved with the grace and prowess of a cougar on the hunt, and his clothes were slightly outdated. He smiled at me, his yellow eyes glittering. I knew I should be terrified, but somehow I wasn't. And then it dawned on me... I had no heartbeat. I narrowed my eyes and felt the bumpiness on my forehead. I lifted my hands and touched my face and felt the ridges above my eyes and nose. I realized my throat burned with thirst and I craved something...young. I looked back to the man as he stopped in front of me and took my hands in his.
"Do you know where you are?" he asked. His voice was musical. It was deep but melodic, and it reminded me a little of how smooth Giles' voice was when I'd hear him humming as we went over the books at the Magic Box. I looked into his face and then back around. I remembered the days before The Final Battle and what had been supposed to happen. But why was I sitting in a pile of rubble? "Sunnydale, California... Correct?" I tilted my head as he nodded, smiling as he moved a lock of hair away from my face. "Yes. Good. How much can you remember?" I shook my head, still confused as I looked back at him and wondered why he touched me as if he cared about me. "Not much. I remember fighting in the hall at the school... and then something sharp went through me and I fell. I passed out, I think. I'm not sure. Who are you?" He laughed softly and grinned. "My name is Cole. Do you want me to tell you what happened to you?" He spoke with a faint Australian accent. I wondered how old he was, in vamp years. I nodded, wary of him, but also too curious about myself to exert much effort into keeping my guard up. Also, I was too thirsty to care why he spoke to me as if we were friends.
Cole sat down in front of me, moving a decaying body out of the way as he did so. Strange how the smell was strong, but didn't bother me. Cole took my hands again as he began speaking. "I had gone into the high school to hide from the sunlight. I'd been near there right before the sun came up, when I fed off a young girl I'd met up with in an alley. By the time I was done with her, the sun was almost up and I hid in the band room. I intended to leave as soon as it got dark. But instead, something went down. I had heard a few people in the halls and was going to see if there was anyone I could eat. Just as I got close enough, the ground started shaking. Hell, I thought it was another bloody earthquake. I was standing just around the corner from you when he cut you. This bastard with the crazy eyes nearly chopped you right in half, love. I could smell your blood, but more than that... I couldn't take my eyes off you. Your face, your body... I wanted you. Even though I knew you were about to cark it, I could feel you. I knew you were special. So... Just as the ****ing building was coming down around us, I ran to you and bit you... You were about to die. I could feel your life draining. So I tore my wrist open and forced it into your mouth. You drank just a bit, love, but it was enough. I watched the venom start to heal you and I knew you were changed. So I guess I'm your Sire, mate."
I looked at him, knowing I looked like an idiot with my mouth hanging open. I closed it, taking in all he'd said. So apparently I didn't die as quickly as I thought I had. I had no memory of being turned, but then, not many vampires did at first from what I had understood from Spike's stories. I touched my stomach and felt the tender wound. Cole quickly moved my hand away and nodded toward my stomach. "Careful, now... You're still healing, love. She'll be apples soon enough but right now you need to rest." He tried to lay me back down but I pushed his hand away. "No... I'm thirsty. I'm so thirsty." He nodded. "I know. But we'll have to dig ourselves out before you can feed. Do you know where we are?" I shook my head, looking around at the small space. Rocks, tree limbs, and parts of both bodies and buildings lay all around us. Someone-Cole, I supposed- had cleared as much of the floor as possible, but there was no light above. Even though I could sense that it was daylight, I couldn't see the sunshine. That thought bothered me. I wondered if I would starve. I knew I couldn't die of starvation if I was a vampire. I had seen with my own eyes in my years as a vengeance demon what happened to vampires when they didn't feed. They basically became a walking skeleton, and it wasn't pretty. I growled and looked up, trying to figure out how long it would take to dig my way out. I could care less about Cole. I mean, he was attractive, but I didn't need him to survive. Thousands of years as a demon, myself, had taught me how to be self-reliant and very good with money.
"Where are we?" My throat burned and ached for blood. I could smell it, dried and stale all over the place, and it only made me hungrier. Cole gestured with his hands as he spoke. "Well, from what I can gather, at some point the whole damn town fell in. There was this huge rumbling sound that felt like it went on forever, and then it stopped and we were trapped here. I tried to climb out before to see if I could pull you out of here, but I couldn't move the stone by myself. We're in some sort of crater, and I'm not sure how far down we are in that crater." I looked at him, wondering at how he had escaped unscathed in the collapse. "And during this collapse, how did you come away unhurt?" He laughed and winked at me, his deep blue eyes twinkling. "Just lucky, I guess." I smirked at him, my throat screaming at me for liquid. I gestured to the bodies around us. "How long have they been there?" Cole tilted his head at me questioningly. I sighed. "Are they fresh enough to eat, or not?" He shook his head at me, looking sympathetic. "I'm sorry, love, but I wouldn't drink from them. They're stale; been here for a couple of days now. I shrugged at him and grabbed the corpse of a man wearing a Bank of Sunnydale polo shirt and khakis. "I don't care. I'm too hungry to care." Cole winced slightly, repulsed as I savagely tore into the man's neck.
