|
|
Part 2
The following evening, I find myself actually wanting to listen to Angel. I am waiting to see if he does come back to see me. If he doesn't, then I don't know what I'll do. I don't want to go against him, he won't be very happy if I do. I'm hungry again, but I don't leave. I hear a knock at the door, and I go to answer it. It's Angel. He did come back, and he again hands me food, another packet just like he eats. I go back to where I was sitting, and I eat. He comes in and sits down across from me. He waits till I finish, then begins talking to me. "I wasn't sure I'd find you here Dru. But now that I have, I know that you are at least trying to fight the demon inside. I'm not sure why, but I will help you to find out. I'm going to leave you for now, but I will be back. Stay here and don't leave." As I watch him go, I softly whisper, "thank you, Angel. I will wait for your return." He quickly leaves my sight, and I wonder where he is going.
For the next few hours, I stay at the factory and think about the fact that Angel seems to trust me enough to leave me here alone. I walk around and try to clean things up a little more, but it is difficult. The fire really left things a mess. I finally get most of the mess picked up and it looks a little more presentable at least. I am glad that I can at least try to make it look a little nicer, and for a while forget what I am, what I was turned into, a monster that lives to kill.
' Where did that thought come from? I have never thought about things that way before. I have never looked at myself as a monster till now. What is happening to me? I want Angel, I should go find Angel, but he said to stay here. That was hours ago though, he should have been back by now. Should I go? No, I'm going to stay. I won't mess up, not now. ' I sit back down, even more confused than earlier, but make no attempts to leave the factory. Then I hear that familiar knock, and go to answer it.
"Angel, come in." I try to hide the fact that I was upset earlier. He walks in and then tells me to go and sit down. At first I wonder if he's upset, but go and do as he says. After I am seated, he walks back out to the hall way and returns with someone. I notice that he has brought Willow with him. I finally understand why he wants me seated first. He's still afraid that I may try to hurt her. I stay seated and try not to spook her. I know that convincing her to even come here must have taken a lot. Once he gets her seated, I notice that she is really tense. I figure that is because of being here, with me.
I wait till after he convinces her to sit down, before I say anything. "Hi, Willow," I start off hoping that using her name helps her realize that I won't hurt her. She tenses up at the words, but Angel tries to reassure her. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I promise. I'm not sure what Angel has told you, but I've stopped killing. I haven't killed in months. I came here to try to get some help. The type of help that I can only get from people who know what I was like." I look into Willow's eyes, and I see her fear. I decide that it is best if I wait till she has had some time to think about this before continuing.
Willow watches me for a while, then she speaks. "Dru, Angel told me about what you did yesterday, not killing. He also told me that you haven't left here yet today. He seems to think that something has happened that has changed you. Now I don't know exactly what has happened, but I plan on finding out. Now I'm not saying that I trust you, but I'm curious as to why you are changing you old habits. I need a few days though. Can you trust me with that Dru? I've already promised Angel that I won't say anything to Buffy or Giles, unless they ask me directly. Now I do need to go, so that I can get some rest before school tomorrow."
I watch Willow. She still hasn't relaxed but her eyes tell me that she is telling the truth. I nod. "I trust you Willow, and thanks."
"Dru, " I turn to Angel as he speaks, " I'm going to walk Willow back to her house. Will you be ok here for the rest of the night? I'll help you find somewhere different to stay tomorrow, ok? It's going to start getting to cold for you here soon, and this place is a danger zone." "Sure, Angel. I can manage one more night here, and thanks."
Willow gets up to leave, and Angel follows her. I'm not sure I like the idea of being alone again, but at least now I have a small ray of hope. I have help, but where will Willow's search lead her? I try not to think about it as I lay down to rest for the night.
I wake up late the following evening and I can feel that I'm not alone anymore. I quickly try to figure out who may be there with me, but I can't see anyone. " Who's there? What do you want with me?" Then I hear a movement off to the side. I quietly try to gather my things together, hoping that I can find something to defend myself with if necessary. I wonder who would be brave enough to come here alone, but can think of no one. If it had been the slayer, I would have already been dead. Willow said that she wouldn't be returning right away, and Angel never enters without knocking. I'm not sure I like the idea of not being answered, but I know that I am definitely being watched. I can feel the eyes burning into me. "Who's there? Won't you please answer me? I just want to know if you are a friend or a foe."
' Still no answer. Why won't they answer me? Are they afraid of me? I haven't attacked them, and I do smell blood. It's fresh too. That's not a very good sign. It could either be a vampire who has just killed, or an injured human. In either case I can feel the start of the stirrings of my demon. I have to fight it, I can't change not now. To give in after coming this far would be stupid. There's that sound again, I have to find out what is making it.'
I slowly walk towards the sound, trying to stay alert to everything in the room. I can still feel that someone is watching me. I just wish that I knew who. Then I see the source of the sound, a human that has been tied up. I see that they are trying to free themselves from the ropes and they are kicking at a box try to move to where they maybe able to cut the ropes on a nail. When they see me, they stop moving. I recognize her. It's the slayer, but what is she doing here. I can see that she has been beaten around a little, and that there is still some cuts that have yet to stop bleeding. That's the fresh blood I was smelling. "She's a present for you, luv. I sure do 'ope you like it." My mind goes numb once I hear the voice. Spike has found me. I was hoping to get away from him till after I was able to get things sorted out.
"Spike, luv," I say as I turn towards him. " You came looking for me? I didn't think you cared for Sunnydale. You said it was cursed here. I just came back for a little vacation. I would have returned to brazil soon." I know that I have to get him away from here. Angel will be here soon. Plus, I need to get the slayer to safety. I just wish he'd leave so that I can do this. As I watch him, I notice that he is very intent on watching me as well. I try to keep my usual calmness, but inside I am terrified. I know what Spike can do, and I know what Angel promised to do if I ever fed off of another human. I slowly weigh my options.
"Luv, I don't like it here, but when you left me I had to come looking for you. I love you, and don't want to lose you. I've even given you a present. A slayer. Kill her and then you can have two slayers just like me." He smiles at me. The entire time he's been talking though I was trying to figure out what to do.
' Do I go ahead and feed off of the slayer a little? Angel wouldn't like that at all, and neither would Buffy. The only thing that would do is get me killed. Ok, second option, pretend that I am going to feed off of her, but don't, instead I release her. That may work, but then again she may still want to kill me even though I helped her. Now then third option, give her the means to release herself and send her to get Angel while I distract Spike? That might work. She is smart enough to know that she can't take us both on, and by allowing her to get lose I may give her something to think about. I think that is the way that I'll go.' I look around and see a small knife that had been dropped on the floor near her.
"Excuse me, my sweet. I'm going to make sure that our guest is quite comfortable, OK? I'm not all that hungry right now, but I will eat later." "Sure thing, Ducks. I'll go back over here and sit down. You can join me once you're done." ' Good, Spike seems to be buying it,' I think. I lean down near Buffy, as I grab the knife and open it. Buffy starts to pull away from me till she feels me place the opened knife in her hands, then she looks at me, confused. "Buffy," I whisper, " use the knife to cut the ropes holding you. I will distract Spike. Once you are free use the back exit and get out of here. I won't follow you. Go find Angel and tell him that Spike is back. I'm sorry that he did this to you. Angel will take care of you though, I know that he will." With that I leave and return to Spike. I know that Buffy will get away, and I hope she does what I told her too.
I sit down on Spike's lap and try to keep him distracted. I seem to be doing a great job too. He never even mentions the fact that the slayer is still alive. He's talking about taking me back to Brazil. He is making plans for the future, but I'm not sure I want to be part of them. How can I tell him this, he's stuck by me for so long. I hear the back door open and close quietly. I wonder if he heard it. I look at him, and he is still talking about our future. He hasn't stopped talking so I guess he didn't. I'll wait for a few more minutes before I even try to interrupt him. Buffy should have found Angel by then and told him what what's going on here. Spike has his arms around me now, and doesn't seem to want to let go of me. I'm not comfortable with his touch anymore, I don't understand this. I want to get away, but he's not letting me. Then I hear it, the familiar knock that tells me Angel is here. My spirits drop as I realize that Buffy didn't find him in time to warn him. Spike lets me go so that I can go answer the door.
As I pull the door open, I notice that Angel has his game face on. This confuses me. He has never showed up like this before. Then he pulls Buffy in the doorway, my heart sinks. I wonder if he ever really got his soul back before she had to send him to hell. Then I see it, a slight smile on Buffy's face. Angel isn't hurting her, they have a plan. I have no idea what it might be, but I can't wait to see.
"Well, well, well, Dru it appears we have a guest, Spike how are you doing?" Angel walks past me and roughly shoves Buffy at me. "Here Dru, I caught her sneaking around back. Be sure she doesn't get away this round. I would hate to lose that sweet slayer blood." I watch as he walks over to Spike. I wish I knew what they were up to, then I see it, a stake. Angel has a stake. I know what he is up to and I don't want to stop him. I watch as he hugs Spike and I try not to think about what is about to happen. Then a fight breaks out and I notice the stake leave Angel's hand. "Angel!" I yell out. I notice the shocked look on Buffy's face. I try to run over to help him but Buffy stops me. She drags me out of the factory and pulls me towards the mansion. Once there she opens the door and pushes me inside. "Stay here, Dru. I'll be back, I need to check on Angel. It's his idea that you be here so that he can keep an eye on you. I don't like it, but I trust him." I watch as Buffy leaves. I'm not sure what to do, so I just close the door and sit down to wait.
' I wonder why he did that, come back to get me after I let Buffy go. Does he still think of me as a threat even now? I know Buffy isn't pleased that I'm back but she didn't stake me either, so I guess that's good right? Of course it is, it means that he has probably explained a little bit to her. Or maybe, my giving her a way out of the certain death that would have been dealt to her did it. I wish I knew what changed her mind about staking me on sight. I guess I'll find out soon enough.' I watch as both Buffy and Angel walk in. He looks at me then walks into the kitchen. When he comes back he has some food for me. He explains where I will be staying while I'm in his home, and also lays down the ground rules. The biggest one being that I can't harm another person while I'm in town. I agree to follow these rules and he escorts Buffy home while I eat. When he returns, I ask about Spike.
" Spike got away, Dru, and he wasn't very happy when he heard you yell my name out. I think he knew of the changes in both your habits and your attitude. And when you didn't try to help him, it just confirmed his suspicions. He will probably try to kill you now. I want you to be careful."
He heads off to his room, leaving me there to think. I sit there for a few
moments and think about what has happened in the last few days. I have upset
Spike, made and uneasy truce with Buffy and Angel, and gotten a bit of help
from Willow. I head off to my room, feeling a bit better.