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Part 1
Buffy got off the bus. She hadn't wanted to, but this was a far as it went. She looked around the coast of North Carolina. The sun was just setting. The red, orange, and purple rays bounced off the water as the sun descended. Everyone who watched drew in a deep breath of awe and satisfaction. All, that is, but Buffy. Her sad, cold eyes saw nothing, heard nothing but her pain. She was alone. Totally and utterly alone. And scared.
With a shake, she looked about for the nearest hotel. She located a Holiday Inn and paid
for two nights. She didn't have much money or possessions, just what she could gather
before leaving Sunnydale…. Unexpectedly the tears started to well up. She firmly pushed
them and all thoughts of her previous life behind her. She was starting over.
Audrey sat silently in her room, looking at a picture of a smiling man and a radiant woman
in a sailboat. A picture was all she had of them now. She hugged her small white teddy
bear closer to her. She had tried to give up Gabrielle, her bear, but hadn't been able to part
with the thing that had comforted her all her life. "One is forced to put away childish
things" she had once been told. Well, she had done that. If she had to accept the weight of
an entire world, saving everyone and fighting demons, she was certainly keeping Gaby.
Audrey shook her head to clear her thoughts. She grabbed her brush, which lay on the
nightstand beside her bed and started to comb through her glossy, brown locks. She could
see herself in her mirror, and she paused at the reflection.
Audrey Arlen was 18 years old. Her sparkling violet eyes could hold an edge that would
make your blood run cold. Her face was oval, not so much so that she had a hard face, but
just enough to make her face and neck seem slender. This was not the face that you would
expect to see on a hero destined to save the world.
She paused in her reflections to wonder She had studied most on the most recent three slayers, Haley, Buffy, and Kendra. They
were all nice names, and she had wondered what they were like. Haley was described as a
happy redhead full of bounce and cheer until Fabin, a 900-year-old vampire had put the
bite on her. Buffy was a blonde who had been rumored to be the strongest Slayer every
recorded. In fact, she wasn't even dead. But, the brief time that she had died was enough
to call the next Slayer, Kendra. Kendra had had jet-black hair and took her job very
seriously. Audrey didn't think she would have liked Kendra. But, Kendra had died. A
vampire named Drusilla had cut her throat. Actually, she was helping Buffy at the time, to
get her boyfriend Angel back. Audrey found it all very confusing.
But, Kendra ~had~ died and now it was time for Audrey to assume her place. She was
ready for it, and willing. Audrey had a personal vendetta against vampires. She relished
killing them. After all, they were the ones who had killed her parents. On her 15th
birthday, her family had gone out to a play at night. The vamps had come suddenly up
behind her and taken her parents. She was about to be next when Alfred came. He saved
her, dusted the vamps, and took her home.
She had been so scared and confused. Thinking back, Audrey didn't know why she had
trusted Alfred. Maybe it was because of his name. Yes, that must have been it. Audrey had
always thought you could judge a person by their name. Her own name meant "noble
strength" "Chosen" "Pledge" It was rather fitting for a Slayer. Alfred's name fell along the
lines of "wise council, trusted advisor", and she trusted him more than she could say.
A yawn interrupted her thoughts.