68. Running Out of Time
They pulled out of the driveway
with the
headlights off, wanting to attract as little attention as possible, if
the house was already being watched by Riley's men. A still-sleepy
Xander snuggled contentedly with Anya in the back of the van, Mara
seated beside them.
Willow and Tara sat in the middle seat with Julian, barely conscious by
this point, leaning back against Tara as the two witches held hands and
quietly murmured the words to every spell of healing or comfort that
they could think of – all with discouragingly little effect.
Aaron sat in the front passenger seat, silent and grim, his expression
a reflection of that on the face of the Watcher, who kept his eyes
focused on the road, his vision somewhat hampered by the lack of light.
When the van left the road, moving slowly through the woods on the edge
of town, Aaron began watching the space ahead of them as carefully as
Giles was, employing his sharp vampire eyesight to warn the older man
of any potential obstacles in the van's path.
Finally, Giles brought the van to a stop, partially hidden by a patch
of thick underbrush.
"Where are we?" Willow asked with a frown, looking up and around out
the windows at the darkness, a bit anxiously.
"Nearly there," Giles replied cryptically, turning off the engine and
opening the door. "We'll have to walk the rest of the way."
"Julian," Tara said softly, calling the attention of the others to the
fact that they had already realized – there was no way the young
vampire was going to be able to walk anywhere. He had left the house on
his own feet, but supported heavily by Aaron and Mara.
By this point, even that much would be impossible.
"I've got him," Aaron quickly volunteered, and as he was the physically
strongest of the group, no one argued as he got out of the passenger's
side door and went around to slide the back door open, easily lifting
Julian's slight form into his arms.
The little band of fugitives followed Giles quickly and quietly through
the darkness toward their destination, unknown still to all but the
Watcher.
Willow was standing beside him when he brought them to a halt in front
of a large boulder, nearly as tall as she was. She watched in surprise
as he felt carefully along a tiny fault in the stone, sliding his
fingers in until he found a hidden catch, and the front of the
"boulder" swung open, revealing a dark, downward sloping tunnel.
Willow stared at Giles, astonished, as he gave her a slightly sheepish
smile and a shrug.
"If you follow this tunnel all the way to the end, you'd come out in
the old Initiative complex," Giles explained.
The reactions of the group ranged from surprise to fear, before he
quickly reassured them, "They've been abandoned for years now. Riley's
men steer clear of this area by his orders. He may employ the worst of
their methods, but Riley in no way wants his current organization to be
associated with the miserable failure that the Initiative turned out to
be."
Tara, who had moved to the front of the little group to listen to
Giles' explanation, nodded as she took in the wisdom of his decision, a
slow smile of understanding crossing her lips. "A completely safe place
– where they would *never* expect us to actually go."
Giles simply nodded once, as he took out a small flashlight and shone
it into the darkness, before leading the way down into the tunnel. The
others trustingly followed him, accepting that he knew what he was
talking about and the place was truly safe, though Mara seemed tense
and anxious, hanging back a bit as they made their way deeper into the
underground place that would hide them until it was safe to emerge
again.
It was only when Julian began to weakly struggle against Aaron's arms
around him that Giles remembered, too late, the effect that this place
and its history would have on a vampire's keen senses.
The remains of tortured, mutilated demons that had been used for the
Initiative's experiments until their bodies could take no more,
littered the ground near the walls, and though the actually atrocities
had occurred years ago, the scent was still strong enough to make the
humans uncomfortable – and must have been torment for the vampires,
bringing back the memory of the stench of blood and death and fear that
must have filled the Initiative complex at one time.
Giles was just wondering, with self-directed anger at his own
thoughtlessness, if the smell of the soldiers that his vamps had
described so vividly to him before still remained in this place – when
the question was answered with Julian's half-lucid, fearful reaction.
He fought weakly, futilely, against Aaron as the other vampire
attempted to lie him down on the pile of soft blankets that Willow and
Tara had brought from their house.
"No – don't let them – no..." he moaned softly, his voice thick with pain
and terror, struggling back to consciousness, his eyes flying open and
staring unfocused around the room. "Please – don't let them..."
Giles was at his side in an instant, as was Tara, surrounding him with
the presence and scent of the two people he trusted more than anyone
else.
"Julian," Giles said in a firm voice, just sharp enough to draw the
confused, terrified creature's attention. "Julian, look at me."
The boy obeyed, panic in his eyes, waiting in obedient silence.
"No one's here but us," Giles assured him gently, holding his gaze
firmly. "No one's going to hurt you...take you anywhere. It's just
us...we're safe here, they can't find us...and we're going to keep working
on taking the chip down..."
At that moment, another spasm of pain shook Julian's body, and his hand
shot out to grip Giles' arm in a desperate need for support,
unconscious of his own strength and causing the man to wince with pain.
"Please..." he gasped, his next words revealing that at least he had been
lucid enough to understand what Giles had told him. "Please...hurry..."
Tears sprang to the Watcher's eyes, as he gently removed the boy's hand
from his arm, clutching it tightly in his own, and did the only thing
he knew of to bring any sense of comfort in this increasingly hopeless
situation.
He lied.
"It's okay, Julian," he said softly. "We're almost there. We're very
close to finding the answer now. Just hold on – just hold on a little
longer...we're almost there now, son..."
A sudden realization came to Tara at that moment, and her startled gasp
drew the Watcher's attention. Aware of Tara's ability to read auras, to
see things that others often couldn't, Giles looked up at her sharply.
"What is it?" he asked softly.
She looked up at him with a stunned expression, her eyes wide and
solemn as she drew back her hand from Julian's forehead. "Vampires..."
she began cautiously, "...don't...*have*...body heat. Do they?"
Giles shook his head, his own eyes widening, his hand tightening on
Julian's as he suddenly felt what she had just noticed – what he in his
panic had failed to see. The strange warmth radiating from Julian's
skin ironically sent a chill down his spine with the very unnaturalness
of it, and a sense of foreboding as he realized beyond all doubt that
they had very little time left.
Julian was burning up – from the inside out.
Buffy awoke as if from a very deep sleep, her head feeling sore and
hollow and far too heavy for her body – which also felt achy and
utterly exhausted. A sense of urgency came slowly over her as she
fought her way back to consciousness, aware that there was a reason why
she was supposed to be concerned...something had happened...
Suddenly it all came flooding back to her with a surge of anger...
*Riley!*
...followed by an intense fear...
*Oh, God, *Spike*!*
She struggled to open her eyes, realizing as she did that she could not
move – she was restrained in some way. When her vision cleared, she saw
that she was in a dimly lit room with four metal walls, bare and
utterly unfurnished, with only a single uncovered light bulb of minimal
power suspended from the ceiling.
She suspected that she was in one of the underground rooms like the one
they had found Anya in – but at least they had not left her in total
darkness as they had done to Anya. She tried again to move, glancing to
the side to gauge just how bad her situation was.
Her back was against the wall farthest from the door to the room, and
her wrists were locked in heavy iron shackles attached to the wall on
either side. Her feet were unfettered, which was good, she thought,
since at the moment she *really* wanted to kick someone. Unfortunately,
that was not an option at the moment. She was completely alone in the
room – for the moment.
She had no way of knowing how long that would last.
She fought off a sense of panic as she wondered just why she was alone.
Where was Riley – and where was *Spike*? The fact that both were
unaccounted for set a cold fear in her heart, as she remembered the
last time Riley had gotten his hands on Spike.
*No,* she thought desperately, struggling uselessly against the chains
that held her.
Unlike his inept men who had fallen before her so easily, Riley knew
what he was dealing with in her; the chains were unbelievably strong,
and held fast against her attempts to break free.
*Oh God – Spike – where -- *no*!*
She knew that after Riley had drugged her, there was no way that Spike
could have escaped. He was defenseless, utterly incapable of fighting
back against Riley. The thought of him being held prisoner somewhere in
this place, with her husband free to do whatever he chose to the
vampire that she loved more than anyone else...
*No – I *promised* him!*
At just that moment, the door was flung open, and a glimpse into the
hall revealed that she was indeed in the underground dungeon, as she
had suspected. But she could hardly think about that at the moment. Her
attention was riveted on the two figures who had just joined her in her
cell.
"Spike!" she gasped, her eyes widening in shock and anger when she saw
his condition.
Riley held Spike by the arm as they entered, slinging him
unceremoniously to the floor as he turned back to shut the door firmly
again. "Hey, Buffy," he said with a deceptively casual smile as he
turned to face her.
Buffy's attention was focused on the battered form of her vampire,
still on his hands and knees on the floor where Riley had thrown him.
He looked up at her with a heartbreaking expression of fear and
resignation in his eyes – but it was the shame there that made her want
to cry.
It was clear that he thought he had let her down.
Her anger rose as she took in the dark purple bruises that mottled his
face, the blood that stained his mouth, his torn shirt, no doubt spilt
by Riley's brutal fists. His limbs were trembling as if with
exhaustion, as if the effort to hold his body up was simply too much
for them, and she knew that beneath his clothes, his body was surely as
battered as his face.
Her blazing narrowed eyes rose to meet the ice blue gaze of her
husband, smiling at her in a chillingly calm way as he shrugged easily.
"I tried to wait for you. Got a little impatient, though. Had to start
without you."
"I'll kill you," she said softly, not a threat, not idle words – a
simple declaration of fact.
Riley laughed softly, before the amusement, the smile, faded from his
face. Never taking his eyes off Buffy, he stepped forward and delivered
a savage kick to Spike's ribcage, doubling him over in agony, setting
off a fit of coughing, desperate gasps for unnecessary breath.
"Stop it!" Buffy cried out, pulling against her bonds. "Leave him
alone, Riley, he didn't do anything!"
"He didn't *do* anything?" Riley echoed, disbelief in his tone. "Buffy
– he's the reason for all of this!" His voice trembled slightly with
traces of the anger he was trying to conceal beneath his cold
façade.
He paused, visibly regaining control, before going on quietly, "We were
happy, Buffy. We had everything we wanted. Until he came along."
"*You* were happy. *You* had everything. *I* was as much a slave as any
of your vampire girls – and he set me free," Buffy declared defiantly,
glaring at her husband furiously, unaware of the awed expression of
wonder – and even joy, through the pain and fear of their situation –
that came over the face of the vampire at his feet at her passionate
words.
The expression vanished almost as quickly as it appeared, twisted in
pain as Riley kicked him again, a nasty look of vindictive rage in his
eyes as he followed up the blow with another one, then grabbed the
dazed vampire by the hair and yanked him back up to his knees.
The whole time he never took his eyes from Buffy's.
"Stop it!" she screamed at him. "Stop it!"
"Buffy," Riley said calmly with a cruel smile. "Shut up." And with
that, he slammed his fist down across the defenseless creature's face,
knocking him back to the floor.
Buffy struggled to contain her fury, realizing that she could not help
him from the position she was in, and that Riley was going to punish
her for each offense by punishing Spike.
"Okay," she said quietly. "Okay, Riley...please...please stop..."
Riley's fist, poised for another blow, slowly lowered, and he released
his painful grip on Spike's hair, taking a step backward away from him
with a satisfied smile. "That's more like it, Sweetheart," he said
softly. "I think you're starting to get it now – aren't you?"
Buffy bit back her angry response, turning her head away to prevent
Riley from seeing her rage, and to prevent herself from saying
something that Spike would surely pay for. Instead, she simply nodded
slowly, a grim expression on her face.
"You're gonna behave yourself, Baby," Riley went on, moving away from
Spike and toward his wife, seeking her eyes with his cold piercing
gaze. "Or things are gonna get a whole lot harder than they already are
for your little pet vamp." He paused, moving in close to stroke a hand
slowly down her cheek.
That hand had struck out in cruel violence against the man she loved –
had signed papers to authorize the murder of the man she loved like a
father – had committed or authorized countless atrocities against
creatures powerless to defend themselves against Riley and those in his
employ.
She couldn't help it. A wave of revulsion went through her and she
pulled away from his touch, glaring at him with a look of sickened
hatred.
His smile didn't falter as he pulled away from her a few steps,
regarding her thoughtfully for a moment. Then he reached into his
pocket as he turned around to face Spike, effectively obstructing her
view of the object he had just taken from his pocket.
The look on Spike's face told her all she needed to know.
The vampire had managed to struggle to his feet behind Riley, as he had
been taunting his wife, and though he had made no move to attack the
man, he had been watching him intently, ready to risk – and sacrifice –
his own life if Riley attempted to hurt Buffy.
But when the larger man turned toward them, Buffy saw his eyes flicker
down to the object Riley had just taken from his pocket – and widen
with sick terror, as the helpless vampire slowly backed away, shaking
his head in a silent plea that told Buffy clearly that whatever it was
Riley was threatening him with – he had used it before.
A few feet away from Spike, Riley turned, allowing Buffy to see the
device in his hand – slim and rectangular and resembling a remote
control. Buffy's mind flashed back to the damning papers still tucked
into her shirt – the written account of Riley's ability to control
certain vampires by remote access to their chips...
"No," she whispered, shaking her head, a stricken expression in her
eyes. "Riley – I'm sorry – Riley – don't..."
Spike glanced at her with wide, panicked eyes – and then seemed to make
a decision. He swallowed hard, his eyes going back to Riley's face
bravely, and she watched with awe and an overpowering feeling of love
for him, as he visibly fought to control his trembling, his mouth set
in a firm line of determination. He could not fight Riley – had no way
of defending himself...
But he would take it with all the strength, courage, and dignity that
Buffy had restored to him.
Riley's eyes narrowed in anger and understanding. He saw the sudden
change, subtle yet clear, in the vampire's demeanor – and it enraged
him.
"Riley," Buffy begged him, straining against the chains that bound her
wrists until the metal creaked and she felt blood running down her arms
– but the chains did not give. "Riley, don't do this! Riley, I'll do
whatever you want! *Don't* *do* *this*!"
She went silent suddenly, frozen, speechless with horror, when Riley
pressed a button on the device – and her vampire crumpled to the floor
on his knees, holding his head in his hands, his mouth open and
trembling in a silent scream, breath stolen by the vicious agony that
Riley sent coursing through his body with the simple touch of a button.
She knew by Spike's face, by the violent shudder that passed repeatedly
through his body, that this was far worse even than the shocks that had
assaulted him when he had killed the soldier in the cemetery, to save
her. This was pain like she could not imagine – like he should not have
to.
And she couldn't even hold him.
"Stop," she sobbed, her voice choked and broken. "Riley, stop, please!
*Please*!" In an impulse born of her love for the suffering creature
before her, Buffy moved to go to her own knees, restrained and
prevented by the chains, but going as low as she could, pleading for
mercy for the creature who meant more than her pride – than her very
life.
"Riley," she gasped in a strangled whisper, and he turned to look at
her, his attention drawn in the change in the direction of her voice.
"Riley, stop...please..."
Finally, Riley's finger moved from the button, and she saw the violent
spasms that had shaken Spike's body slowly wane, her eyes focused on
her vampire as her husband moved slowly back toward her, deliberately
moving to fill her vision, to block her view of Spike, his hand
returning to her cheek, turning her head toward him.
She did not dare resist this time, allowing him to move her, pliant and
submissive – as he wanted her. She kept her eyes averted, not wanting
the impotent rage and hatred he would surely see there to bring more
punishment down on Spike.
When Riley tipped her face up and brought his lips to hers tenderly, it
was all Buffy could do not to gag with disgust. She fought back the
wave of nausea that washed over her, and forced herself to submit – but
not respond – to the kiss.
*Spike...Spike...for you...love you...* she repeated again and again in her
mind, reminding herself of why she was committing this forced betrayal.
*Love you, protect you, no matter what...*
Riley finally ended the torment of the kiss, after a few interminable
seconds, pulling back to look into her eyes. She had managed to
suppress the fury, the violent intent to kill, for Spike's sake – and
all he saw was tearful terror, and the submission he craved.
"Now," he said softly, a smirk playing over his lips. "Let's try this
again."