Cohen
Hellhound
Within the confines of Sunnydale there are two types of people: those who accept the monsters who lurk in the night and choose to continue a "normal" life anyway, and those who deny. Regardless, everyone knows that the mysterious deaths that haunt the newspapers each morning are not mysterious at all, and are usually the result of some monster or psychopath, or both.
The students of Sunnydale High knew that things had gotten better since the previous new girl, Buffy Summers, showed up. Nearly every classmate had at least one story of Buffy saving their lives from a "gang" attack or a creepy monster in the cemetery. But no one wanted to admit that the "weird" new girl was actually kind of cool.
But high school was over, and it was Danny McPhee's sophomore year at UC Sunnydale. He had seen Buffy and Willow on campus here and there, and even attempted to say hey that one time before he realized his voice was gone and he COULDN'T say hey, and meagerly walked away to figure out what might have caused his sudden bought of laryngitis. He heard that there was some kind of military operation going on with the ROTC program of the college, and almost signed up for ROTC classes before overhearing by a group of guys in the cafeteria, one's name he recalled was Forrest, that many of the soldiers had been killed by something called a Polagara, and that quickly ended his military aspirations.
Instead, Danny McPhee was studying History. He figured Sunnydale had plenty of it, and maybe the degree could lead him to a job at a museum in a bigger city, away from Sunnydale and the things that often went bump in the night here. His current class was "History of the Occult," which lead him to stopping by the Magic Box one day in his white and blue striped t-shirt. He wanted to get an authentic occult book for his research on his final paper for his course, and was surprised to see his former librarian was the owner of the shop.
"Hey Mr. Giles!" Danny said as he entered the building. He noticed the former librarian was sitting at a circular table, along with Xander, the weird girl Anya, some Bleached-Blond Dracula wanna-be, Willow, and a girl he didn't recognize that was wearing pajamas with her hand banadaged up. All of them, except for the girl he didn't recognize, looked startled to see him.
"I'm sorry, we're closed for the evening," Mr. Giles responded.
Anya whispered to Xander. "I told you to lock the door!"
"I did!" Xander whispered back. "I thought you meant the back door."
Danny looked around confused. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just needed a book for class."
"What does this look like, a library?" Xander said.
"I'm taking an Occult History class," Danny replied. "I'm sorry, I can see you guys are busy--sitting. I'll come back tomorrow."
"Please do!" Anya said, enthusiastically. "I'll be happy to help you find your book then!"
Danny nodded and backed out of the store, hearing the lock click behind him. Those guys were so weird. Danny shook his head and headed out toward the Espresso Pump for a coffee before his long walk back to campus. Crossing the street, he heard a twig snap and turned to his left, his heart skipping a beat. No random noise was good in Sunnydale. Seeing nothing, he turned back toward the coffee shop, startled to see a man in front of him in an odd-looking brown and green shirt combo with black boots. Danny wasn't usually the one for fashion, but this guy looked like had been dead for years.
"Um.. hi," he managed.
Suddenly, the guy's face changed to a monstrous vampire face, and Danny knew he only had one option: Run.
He knew the people in the Magic Box would be no help, so he dashed into the alley beside the store, hoping to outrun or find a safe hiding spot. As he rounded the corner of the alley, he was thankful to hear no footsteps behind him. Maybe he had just imagined the man.
Just when he was about to let his guard down, however, the man appeared on the other end of the alley, walking toward him.
"Gave me a pretty good run there," he said. "Bet the blood's just pumping. Bet it's hot."
"Don't hurt me," Danny pleaded.
"Don't hurt you?" the man laughed.
Just then, a blond girl appeared through the doorway of a building to the left.
"Help me!" Danny shouted. "Call the police!"
"Get out of here, girl!" the man told her.
"Are you guys having a fight?" she said, stepping out of the doorway and into the alley. "Cause you know, fighting's not cool."
"Get out of here!" Danny shouted to her, not recognizing her in his fear.
"No," the man said. "She wants to stay. I don't mind a little appetizer."
The next few minutes were a blur to Danny. He remembered the girl taunting the monstrous man who had chased him. He recalled her breaking his leg, and the man screaming in agony. That part was nice for Danny to hear, considering he knew that he was about to be killed before the girl showed up. But that moment of reprieve turned quickly back into fear as the man attacked the blond girl, and Danny rushed out of the way as the two fought.
Danny was stunned that this girl was so strong--punching, kicking, throwing the monstrous man around like he was a rag doll. And before he knew it, the girl had caught a piece of splintered wood from the trash pile and used it to stab the man, before he exploded into a bunch of dust.
It was only then that Danny recognized who the girl was.
"Wow," Buffy said. "It's been a long while since I met one who didn't know me." She backed up and turned to Danny, a tinge of sadness in her voice. "You should get home."
"How'd you do that?" Danny asked her.
"It's what I do," she replied, simply.
"But you're just a girl," Danny said.
"That's what I keep saying," she responded, before walking back into the building.
Danny stood there for a moment, stunned. He had heard so many stories of Buffy saving the lives of the people he knew. But he never experienced that moment, until this night. This warm, spring night. He wanted to tell her thank you, but the door was closed before he could open his mouth.
Danny silently backed away from the alley. He crossed the street to the Espresso Pump, and ordered his coffee. As quickly as it all had happened, it started to become a dream to him. Was Buffy really there? Did that just happen? Maybe this town was getting to him. A year later, he heard that sweet Willow went crazy and killed some people. He heard she was taken away to some insane asylum in England. He was then surprised to see her one day at the butcher's market waiting in line while this odd blond kid ordered some meat and an abnormal amount of pigs blood. For a moment, he thought she was going to go crazy again and kill the boy when he witnessed her running after him like a crazed psychopath. He quickly ducked out of the store and continued about his day--half forgetting that he ever saw her there.
Months later, when people started leaving Sunnydale, Danny chose to stay. Even after the cops showed up at the Bronze one night and nearly killed a bunch of teenaged girls, including one brunette that looked like that tough girl who used to hang out with Buffy and her friends their senior year. But Danny had grown up in Sunnydale. Maybe everyone else was going to leave, but this was his town. Not the monsters'. So after his college graduation, he stayed in his parents house, circling ads for history teachers. He knew Sunnydale High had been rebuilt, and he was sure he could find a job there.
He was surprised one morning when he was awoken by the rumblings of an earthquake. It had happened quicker than he thought possible. He had woken up by the rumbling, had almost put on his white and blue t-shirt when cracks started forming on the walls. He barely had time to run outside when all of a sudden the whole house crumbled down, and the yard began splitting in two. Before he knew it, the bright sunny day around him had disappeared into a dark abyss and his breath left him one final time.
Within the confines of Sunnydale there are two types of people: those who accept the monsters who lurk in the night and choose to continue a "normal" life anyway and those who deny.
The students of Sunnydale High knew that things had gotten better since the previous new girl, Buffy Summers, showed up. Nearly every classmate had at least one story of Buffy saving their lives from a "gang" attack or a creepy monster in the cemetery. But no one wanted to admit that the "weird" new girl was actually kind of cool.
But high school was over, and it was Danny McPhee's sophomore year at UC Sunnydale. He had seen Buffy and Willow on campus here and there, and even attempted to say hey that one time before he realized his voice was gone and he COULDN'T say hey, and meagerly walked away to figure out what might have caused his sudden bought of laryngitis. He heard that there was some kind of military operation going on with the ROTC program of the college, and almost signed up for ROTC classes before overhearing by a group of guys in the cafeteria, one's name he recalled was Forrest, that many of the soldiers had been killed by something called a Polagara, and that quickly ended his military aspirations.
Instead, Danny McPhee was studying History. He figured Sunnydale had plenty of it, and maybe the degree could lead him to a job at a museum in a bigger city, away from Sunnydale and the things that often went bump in the night here. His current class was "History of the Occult," which lead him to stopping by the Magic Box one day in his white and blue striped t-shirt. He wanted to get an authentic occult book for his research on his final paper for his course, and was surprised to see his former librarian was the owner of the shop.
"Hey Mr. Giles!" Danny said as he entered the building. He noticed the former librarian was sitting at a circular table, along with Xander, the weird girl Anya, some Bleached-Blond Dracula wanna-be, Willow, and a girl he didn't recognize that was wearing pajamas with her hand banadaged up. All of them, except for the girl he didn't recognize, looked startled to see him.
"I'm sorry, we're closed for the evening," Mr. Giles responded.
Anya whispered to Xander. "I told you to lock the door!"
"I did!" Xander whispered back. "I thought you meant the back door."
Danny looked around confused. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just needed a book for class."
"What does this look like, a library?" Xander said.
"I'm taking an Occult History class," Danny replied. "I'm sorry, I can see you guys are busy--sitting. I'll come back tomorrow."
"Please do!" Anya said, enthusiastically. "I'll be happy to help you find your book then!"
Danny nodded and backed out of the store, hearing the lock click behind him. Those guys were so weird. Danny shook his head and headed out toward the Espresso Pump for a coffee before his long walk back to campus. Crossing the street, he heard a twig snap and turned to his left, his heart skipping a beat. No random noise was good in Sunnydale. Seeing nothing, he turned back toward the coffee shop, startled to see a man in front of him in an odd-looking brown and green shirt combo with black boots. Danny wasn't usually the one for fashion, but this guy looked like had been dead for years.
"Um.. hi," he managed.
Suddenly, the guy's face changed to a monstrous vampire face, and Danny knew he only had one option: Run.
He knew the people in the Magic Box would be no help, so he dashed into the alley beside the store, hoping to outrun or find a safe hiding spot. As he rounded the corner of the alley, he was thankful to hear no footsteps behind him. Maybe he had just imagined the man.
Just when he was about to let his guard down, however, the man appeared on the other end of the alley, walking toward him.
"Gave me a pretty good run there," he said. "Bet the blood's just pumping. Bet it's hot."
"Don't hurt me," Danny pleaded.
"Don't hurt you?" the man laughed.
Just then, a blond girl appeared through the doorway of a building to the left.
"Help me!" Danny shouted. "Call the police!"
"Get out of here, girl!" the man told her.
"Are you guys having a fight?" she said, stepping out of the doorway and into the alley. "Cause you know, fighting's not cool."
"Get out of here!" Danny shouted to her, not recognizing her in his fear.
"No," the man said. "She wants to stay. I don't mind a little appetizer."
The next few minutes were a blur to Danny. He remembered the girl taunting the monstrous man who had chased him. He recalled her breaking his leg, and the man screaming in agony. That part was nice for Danny to hear, considering he knew that he was about to be killed before the girl showed up. But that moment of reprieve turned quickly back into fear as the man attacked the blond girl, and Danny rushed out of the way as the two fought.
Danny was stunned that this girl was so strong--punching, kicking, throwing the monstrous man around like he was a rag doll. And before he knew it, the girl had caught a piece of splintered wood from the trash pile and used it to stab the man, before he exploded into a bunch of dust.
It was only then that Danny recognized who the girl was.
"Wow," Buffy said. "It's been a long while since I met one who didn't know me." She backed up and turned to Danny, a tinge of sadness in her voice. "You should get home."
"How'd you do that?" Danny asked her.
"It's what I do," she replied, simply.
"But you're just a girl," Danny said.
"That's what I keep saying," she responded, before walking back into the building.
Danny stood there for a moment, stunned. He had heard so many stories of Buffy saving the lives of the people he knew. But he never experienced that moment, until this night. This warm, spring night. He wanted to tell her thank you, but the door was closed before he could open his mouth.
Danny silently backed away from the alley. He crossed the street to the Espresso Pump, and ordered his coffee. As quickly as it all had happened, it started to become a dream to him. Was Buffy really there? Did that just happen? Maybe this town was getting to him. A year later, he heard that sweet Willow went crazy and killed some people. He heard she was taken away to some insane asylum in England. He was then surprised to see her one day at the butcher's market waiting in line while this odd blond kid ordered some meat and an abnormal amount of pigs blood. For a moment, he thought she was going to go crazy again and kill the boy when he witnessed her running after him like a crazed psychopath. He quickly ducked out of the store and continued about his day--half forgetting that he ever saw her there.
Months later, when people started leaving Sunnydale, Danny chose to stay. Even after the cops showed up at the Bronze one night and nearly killed a bunch of teenaged girls, including one brunette that looked like that tough girl who used to hang out with Buffy and her friends their senior year. But Danny had grown up in Sunnydale. Maybe everyone else was going to leave, but this was his town. Not the monsters'. So after his college graduation, he stayed in his parents house, circling ads for history teachers. He knew Sunnydale High had been rebuilt, and he was sure he could find a job there.
He was surprised one morning when he was awoken by the rumblings of an earthquake. It had happened quicker than he thought possible. He had woken up by the rumbling, had almost put on his white and blue t-shirt when cracks started forming on the walls. He barely had time to run outside when all of a sudden the whole house crumbled down, and the yard began splitting in two. Before he knew it, the bright sunny day around him had disappeared into a dark abyss and his breath left him one final time.
Within the confines of Sunnydale there are two types of people: those who accept the monsters who lurk in the night and choose to continue a "normal" life anyway and those who deny.