Part Three
THE BRONZE, Sunnydale, CA
February 26, 1999
"Xander, over here!" Willow's voice drifted over the sound of the Dingoes
tuning up and the loud chatter of Sunnydale's teen crowd. Xander grimaced and pushed
his way towards the table Willow was sitting at. It was just a few feet from the
stage, so they would have a good view of Oz and the band during their performance.
Xander took the seat to Willow's left.
"So, is Oz nervous?" Xander asked. "Record execs are big people, ya
know."
"Oz doesn't do nervous," Willow replied. "I get nervous for the both
of us," she added with a grin. Oz was diligently tuning his guitar on stage.
He strummed a few chords and caught Willow's eye, giving her a secretive smile. Willow
gazed back at him and waved.
"I wonder if Buffy and Giles found out any more about the disappearances,"
Xander said, drumming his finger against the table. He checked his watch. 7 on the
nose. Cordelia certainly wasn't going to be early.
"I hope so," Willow replied. A booming noise startled them both. Devon,
the lead singer of Oz's band, stepped to the microphone.
"Good evening Sunnydale!" he cried. Willow rolled her eyes at Xander. Sometimes
Devon took the whole 'lead singer' thing a little too far. "Are you ready to
rock?" Xander and Willow couldn't help laughing. Without waiting for a response,
the band launched into their first number.
CORDELIA'S HOUSE
February 26, 1999
"Damn!" Cordelia muttered to herself as a large run spread from her right
ankle to the knee of her sheer stockings. She wriggled out of them and threw them
in the wicker wastepaper basket, hastily grabbing another pair from her bureau drawer.
She glanced at the clock by her bed. 7:05, the numbers glowed. She was already late.
Cordelia carefully slid into the new stockings and raced across the room to her walk-in
closet. No, no, no…she leafed through her clothes, trying to find the exact dress…A
ha, she grinned triumphantly as her eyes settled on it. She plucked the slinky red
dress off of its hanger and held it before her. It was Xander's favorite, the one
he affectionately referred to as 'the hooker dress'. Her smile spread as she slid
the zipper from her waist to her neck and adjusted the spaghetti straps. Cordelia
searched the closet floor for the right shoes, slipping her feet into a pair of red
heels. She closed the closet door and paused before the mirror to run a hand through
her freshly curled hair. Perfect, she breathed happily. She ran from the room as
fast as her heels would carry her. She didn't want to be too late, and she couldn't
wait to see the look on Xander's face when he saw her.
She pulled up to the Bronze several minutes later and parked the car around the rear
of the club. She exited the car and pushed the door lock button on the key ring,
causing the car to emit several beeps. Cordelia tossed her keys into her purse and
walked towards the entrance of the Bronze.
In the shadows, a figure was watching her. It closed its eyes and transformed into
the old woman. She made her way out from the alley, her haggard face illuminated
by the streetlight. Her wrinkled lips curved into a smile as she observed the tall
brunette girl disappear into the club. She was perfect. She looked a bit older than
the last two girls, but still met the requirements nicely. The old woman moved back
into the darkness of the alley to wait.
Later that evening…The Bronze
"I'm so proud of you," Willow beamed at Oz as they swayed together on the
dance floor. The band had taken a break from their set, which was going really well.
Oz locked eyes with her and ran his finger along her cheek.
"Thanks, Will. It makes it easier knowing you're here giving me support,"
he smiled. Willow sighed and rested her chin on Oz's shoulder. She caught Xander's
attention and gave him a grin. He returned the smile and tightened his arms around
Cordelia.
"Have I told you how incredible you look tonight?' he whispered into her ear,
brushing her hair over her shoulder. Her eyes sparkled as she nodded.
"About twenty times," she murmured, closing her eyes.
"You look incredible. Twenty one," he grinned. She glanced around.
"I wonder where Buffy is," she commented. Xander shrugged.
"I'm sure she'll show up sooner or later," he replied, kissing her neck.
"I'm suddenly wishing that we were alone," Cordelia whispered. "What
do you say we go outside to my car?" she suggested with a raised eyebrow. Xander
felt his pulse quicken, and he nodded. She wove her fingers through his and led him
from the dance floor. As they walked towards Cordelia's car, the old woman peered
at them from the darkness. Damn, the hag thought. She's not alone anymore. A minor
setback. She retreated into the alley to determine how to carry out her plan.
SUNNYDALE HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY, Sunnydale, CA
February 26, 1999
Buffy felt someone shaking her. Her eyes flew open, and she braced her hands against
the table.
"What? Huh?" she mumbled, dragging her hand through her disheveled blonde
hair. Giles was standing behind her. She rubbed her eyes.
"I may have something," he said earnestly. Buffy looked around at the dim
library.
"What time is it?" she croaked.
"10:20," he replied. Buffy jumped, startled.
"Damn, Giles! I promised Willow I would be at the Bronze to listen to Oz's big
performance!"
"You were so exhausted after you finished your exercises, and when you put your
head down on the table, I couldn't bear to wake you up," Giles explained. "Until
now. I may have found something about demons that operate around nightfall,"
he said, handing her a large book. Buffy looked at him skeptically and blew the dust
off the pages. She skimmed the pages.
"Nocteamos?" she asked hesitantly. Giles nodded.
"He may be the one. It loosely means 'Lover of the night'. He operates around
nightfall and needs young girls to feed his power."
"Do you have anything else about him?"
"No," Giles shook his head. "I need to do an internet search and see
if I can't locate anything recent about his activity. That book," he pointed
to the one Buffy was clutching. "Is seven centuries old."
"I'll help you. Willow and the gang will understand. I'd feel bad going there
this late anyway," she added, settling in front of the computer.
THE BRONZE, Sunnydale, CA
February 26, 1999
There wasn't much talking going on in Cordelia's car. Soft strains of Sarah McLachlan
filled the car, but neither Xander nor Cordelia were paying any attention to the
music. They were entangled in each other's arms, kissing passionately. Cordelia's
dress was half off, and Xander's khakis were undone. Cordelia broke away slowly and
shot Xander a wicked grin. She watched him gasp as she snuck her hand under his boxers.
He caressed her bare back as she placed her mouth where her hands had been. Xander
moaned, unaware of the presence moving towards her parked car. Xander froze as Cordelia
withdrew to her seat, a look of fear in her eyes.
"Cordy," he whispered, stroking her hand gently.
"Did you hear something?" she asked, panicked. Xander listened patiently.
Another knock at the driver's side window. Xander turned and saw an elderly woman
peering into the car. He quickly zipped up his pants and fastened his belt, and Cordelia
adjusted her bra and pulled up the straps of her dress. She looked to Xander. He
nodded and motioned for her to put down the window.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry," the old woman began. "My car won't start."
She pointed to a beat up Camaro several parking spots away, next to the alley. "I
was wondering if you could give me a jump?" Her sunken eyes pleaded with them.
Cordelia hesitated, but then she nodded.
"I have jumper cables in the trunk," she replied.
"Thank you! Thank you!" The woman backed away from the car, allowing Cordelia
to open the door. Cordelia glanced up and down at the haggard lady. And who says
I don't do my part for humanity, she thought to herself. She walked to the trunk
and popped it open. The old woman edged closer to Cordelia. She pushed her hand inside
her coat and seized the damp cloth. Before Cordelia could protest, the handkerchief
was over her mouth, and she descended into blackness. The old woman spotted a tire
iron near the jumper cables in the trunk. She set Cordelia on the pavement and wrapped
her bony fingers around the cold iron. Xander exited the car, an uneasy feeling in
his stomach.
"What's going…" But he didn't finish his question. The tire iron came down
hard on his head, and he slumped to the ground, unconscious. The old woman tossed
the iron back into the trunk of the car and slammed it shut. She gathered Cordelia
into her arms and changed back to her other form, disappearing into a murky hole
near the back of the alley.
Two hours later…
"Night Devon! Later guys!" Oz called as he and Willow left the Bronze hand
in hand. "Well that was a successful evening," Oz grinned. Willow had a
confused look on her face.
"Yeah sweetie, you were great," she replied absently. "But I wish
I knew what happened to Buffy. And Xander and Cordelia said they were coming back…"she
trailed off. Oz squeezed her hand.
"Buffy probably got caught up with Slayer stuff, and you know Xander and Cordelia.
I bet they're still steaming up the windows of Cordy's car, if they haven't already
left." He gave her an encouraging smile.
"I'm sure you're right," Willow began to say. What she saw several yards
in front of her stopped her dead in her tracks. "Xander!" she screamed,
running towards the motionless body. Oz quickly followed. Willow bent over Xander
and felt for a pulse.
"Is he alive?" Oz asked. Willow nodded.
"There's a pulse. Oh, God, Xander," she breathed. There was a trickle of
blood, partially dried, running down the left side of his face. But there was no
visible wound. Suddenly, Xander stirred and groaned. Willow backed up a foot. Oz
clutched her hand. Xander's eyes slowly opened. "Xander?" Willow asked
gently. He sat up gingerly and touched his hand to the crown of his head. When he
withdrew his fingers, they were covered in blood. Xander looked around, panicked.
"Cordy!" he cried. "Where is Cordelia? Where is Cordy?" he repeated,
panicked. Willow and Oz exchanged scared glances. "Oh God, she took her!"
Xander scrambled to his feet and steadied himself.
"Who took her?" Willow demanded. Xander slammed his fist against the hood
of Cordelia's car.
"The old woman. She was at the window. Cordy went to help her," he babbled.
Willow gave him a comforting hug.
"It's okay, Xander," she whispered soothingly. "We'll find Cordelia."
She could see the fear in Xander's eyes, and for the first time, Willow realized
just how much Xander loved Cordelia. She held him tighter. Oz cleared his throat.
"Shouldn't we go to Giles and Buffy? I mean, who would know what to do better
than them?" he reasoned.
"Good thinking, Oz," she smiled gratefully at her boyfriend.
"We can come back for Cordelia's car. Cordelia is more important," Oz added.
It was then that Oz was elevated a few notches in Xander's mind. Willow helped Xander
into Oz's van. Oz floored the gas pedal and took off towards Sunnydale's High School
Library.
Part Four
SOMEWHERE BEYOND SUNNYDALE
February 27, 1999, just after midnight
Cordelia's head felt like it was spinning as she opened her eyes and focused on her
surroundings. She tried to move her hands to rub her eyes, but she couldn't. Oh God,
she thought, a sick feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. Her hands were chained
to a grayish brick wall, bound at the wrists. Her legs were numb, and her heart was
racing. Her once curled hair now hung limply in straight strands. She looked nervously
around the room, trying to determine where she was and what had happened to her.
Xander! Where is Xander, she cried to herself. It was suddenly coming back to her.
The old woman. She had gone to help that old woman start her car. So much for good
deeds, she thought angrily. Then she remembered nothing. What if something had happened
to Xander too, she fretted, tugging at the chains on her wrists. Xander was nowhere
to be seen. He must be looking for her, she decided. But where would he look? Where
the hell am I, she wondered. She scanned her surroundings again. It seemed to be
a cave of some sort, but there were trees all around her. The place was pitch black
with the exception of two torches burning on the far wall. Cordelia felt the knot
in her stomach getting bigger.
"Help!" she called, astonished at how weak her voice sounded, even with
the echo.
"It won't do you any good," a tiny voice replied from her left side. She
craned her neck as far as the restraints would let her. It was a small blonde girl,
bound much the way Cordelia was. She had a large gash across her forehead and two
cuts on either cheek, her red dress was torn and tattered, and she wore no socks
or stockings or shoes. She looked emaciated and weary. "You can yell but no
one hears you," she whispered sadly. Cordelia was horrified at the sight of
the child. She seemed strangely familiar.
"Are you the only one here?" Cordelia asked softly. The girl nodded.
"There were others, but he took them. They never came back," she added
ominously.
"Who took them?" Cordelia asked. But the child only shook her head.
"Can't say. He'll hurt me. He hurts me," she whimpered.
"Who will hurt you?" No answer. The child stopped crying.
"I'm glad you're here. Now I won't be alone," she said quietly. Cordelia's
heart went out to her. But she wished she wasn't there."You're very pretty."
"Thank you," Cordelia replied with a wane smile. "I'm Cordelia."
"That's a nice name. I'm Amanda." Cordelia got a chill. Amanda. She froze.
She remembered where she had seen this little girl before. Her picture was on the
front page of the newspaper Willow had been reading. She was one of the girls that
had vanished. And the others…she grew nauseous. Now I'm one of them. It's going to
be my picture on the evening news and on the front of the local page of the newspaper,
she realized in horror. A growling sound startled her from her nightmarish reverie.
"He's coming," Amanda hissed, recoiling in fear.
"Who?" Cordelia whispered back. A large shadow fell upon her. Her eyes
widened in terror as an enormous wolf-like creature appeared before her. He gave
Cordelia a wicked grin, his fangs gleaming and his yellow eyes glowing.
"Welcome home."
Part Five
SUNNYDALE HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY, Sunnydale, CA
February 26, 1999
"Buffy! Giles!" Willow called as she, Oz and Xander stumbled through the
doors of the library. Giles looked up from the computer, and Buffy pushed aside the
stacks of papers she was examining and jumped up.
"Xander!" she exclaimed in shock. "What happened?"
"Cordelia," he stuttered, repeating her name several times.
"What about Cordelia? Where is she?" Giles rose and moved next to Buffy.
"That's what we'd like to know," Oz added. Xander sank into one of the
hard wood chairs.
"Xander, do have any idea what happened to her?" Buffy asked gently. Xander
continued to stare off into space.
"Xander, tell us what you were doing when she disappeared," Giles urged.
Xander's face turned red.
"Well, uh, we were in Cordy's car, and then this old woman knocked on the window
and said her car needed a jump. Cordelia got out to get the jumper cables from her
trunk. When I got out a minute or two later, the lady hit me over the head with something,
and I blacked out. By the time Willow and Oz found me, Cordelia was gone," Xander
exhaled. "I shouldn't have let her get out," he moaned. "If I had
been the one to offer help, Cordelia would be here right now." Buffy put her
hands on Xander's shoulders reassuringly.
"Everything will be fine, Xander," she said soothingly. "Don't blame
yourself. If this woman was going to take Cordelia, she would have found a way with
or without your actions."
"An old woman, you said?" Giles paced, deep in thought. "Well there
are many demons that take the form of the elderly to interact with humans. Do you
think you could pick her out if you spotted her?" Xander nodded. Giles sat down
next to Xander and opened a book. "Let's start looking," Giles offered.
Buffy hovered over them, several other books in her arms, ready to produce the next
book for browsing.
"Giles, where are the articles about the disappearances?" Willow asked
curiously. Giles pointed at the stack Buffy had been leafing through. Willow grabbed
the pages and sat down opposite Xander. "Maybe there's something that we missed."
The room was silent for the next few minutes. Only every now and then did Xander
utter 'no' or 'next' to Giles. Oz studied Willow's serious face. He watched her eyes
get big. Her mouth dropped open.
"Will?" Oz asked hesitantly.
"Cordelia was wearing a red dress," Willow sputtered. Xander nodded.
"Yeah. She knows that dress is my favorite," he smiled wistfully. Willow
waved the articles in the air.
"Red!" She was met with blank stares. "All of the victims were wearing
red when they disappeared. Caitlin Phillips, red and yellow field hockey uniform.
Lindsey Fairchild, a red jacket. Amanda Taylor, red dress. Samantha Cullen, red windbreaker.
And Cordy's red dress!" Willow threw the articles down triumphantly. Giles took
his glasses off and looked serious for a moment.
"Red clothing and an old woman," Giles started. "And with the exception
of Cordelia, all the girls were alone and on their way somewhere when they disappeared."
He thought again for a minute.
"Red could mean a lot of things," Buffy added. "But an old woman taking
young girls?" she repeated puzzled.
"Sounds like Little Red Riding Hood," Oz said jokingly, trying to lift
everyone's spirits. He regretted the comment the minute he said it. Xander shot him
a dirty look. But Giles gasped.
"Of course! Little Red Riding Hood!" he said loudly, racing back to the
books. "The wolf disguises himself as her grandmother in an attempt to eat the
poor child." He recalled the childhood folk tale.
"Are you saying that some creature or demon is posing as an old woman to lure
girls in red away?" Buffy repeated.
"Precisely! Quite often demons take the form of familiar characters to carry
out their evil. Willow, Oz, you are geniuses!"
"So what is going to happen to Cordelia? What is this thing gonna do to her?"
Xander asked in a shaky voice. "We have to find her! How do we find Cordelia?"
"We start researching," Giles replied, handing him a thick book. Xander
immediately began perusing the large text. Willow and Oz sat transfixed at the computer,
pointing and clicking desperately. Buffy sighed and watched Xander, frantically reading.
Hang in there, Cordelia, she thought to herself, trying to ignore the feeling of
dread in her stomach.
BEYOND SUNNYDALE
February 27, 1999
Cordelia drew in a sharp breath and winced as she focused on the creature lurking
before her. She turned her face away, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Amanda
cowering. She swallowed hard, feeling a lump forming there. Xander, Buffy, help,
she prayed silently. Cordelia shivered as she felt hot, sticky breath on her neck.
The creature was now standing next to her.
"Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf?" he hissed in a low growl. Cordelia
was shaking now. She let out a small cry as she felt his coarse, wet tongue slide
over her cheek. I'm in hell, she decided, cringing, wanting so badly to wipe the
foul smelling saliva from her face.
"What do you want from me?" she moaned softly. The wolf's eyes gleamed
evilly.
"Nothing just yet," he promised ominously. "You'll have your turn."
He ran a claw along her jaw line and traced it down her neck, piercing her skin slightly
above her breastbone. She gasped as a small drop of blood appeared and rolled downward,
hidden bythe fabric of her dress. Cordelia closed her eyes tightly and felt the hot
tears welling in her eyes. A scream startled her, and her eyes flew open. The wolf
was unchaining Amanda, and she was fighting him as much as her tiny body would allow
for. He sharply slashed her across the face, opening a gash that ran from her cheekbone
to her chin. Amanda shrieked in pain. Cordelia's heart ached for the poor child,
but she was glad it wasn't her being tortured. At least not yet, she thought, her
fear resurfacing. The wolf paused in front of Cordelia, clasping the screaming child
against his chest and changed into a young male of about 30. "It's more fun
this way," he grinned, as if to justify the transformation. "Do you like
to watch?" he whispered in a throaty voice.
"No," she answered weakly, her voice barely a whisper. She shook her head
vehemently, getting increasingly anxious at the way the creature, now in human form,
was holding Amanda. He threw her to the ground and stared into Cordelia's eyes coldly.
"Too bad," he sneered in a singsong voice. "Enjoy the show,"
he grinned, ripping the little girl's dress down. Cordelia shut her eyes, horrified
by the thought of what the creature was about to do. She screamed in unison with
the girl's screams, desperate for the torture to end. She sobbed uncontrollably as
the thing had his way with Amanda. Oh, God, please help me, Cordelia cried silently,
her tears stinging her cheeks as the torment continued…