Fishing
Friday, September 1, 2000
It took Xander less than five minutes to deal with the four non-humans. He
didn't know, or care, what species they really were, all sizzled flesh smelled
the same. Still, what little time it took was too much, for Spike had not
resurfaced after being thrown into the waves.
Xander knew what panic did to a person pulled under water, whether they were
excellent swimmers or not. Spike's fear of the "undertow" would do nothing to
aid him in remembering even the simplest lessons Xander had taught earlier in
the day: relax and let the water take you where it wanted, for it would spit you
out on the surface shortly.
Now, it was all Xander could do not to panic himself as he searched the water
for Spike. Although how does one find a bright white body in a bright white body
of water? If Spike was like a normal vampire, Xander may have had a chance of
spotting his black body due to the dead electro-molecules that comprised it. But
Spike was enhanced with fully charged electro-molecules, making him look solid
white to Xander while giving him the ability to play in the sun.
"Spike!" Xander called, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his
voice. "Spike! Where are you?!"
There had to be a way to use his unwanted powers to find Spike, Xander
thought. Shocking the ocean wouldn't do anything other than possibly deep fry
the creatures in it, including the vampire. He'd already established that he
couldn't locate Spike by sight. Blindly searching by touch was a waste of time,
considering Spike was lost in an ocean, and there was no answer when he
called.
"Think, Xander, think," Xander muttered to himself as he paced the small
stretch of beach. "How can I find him? How does an electrically charged man pull
another electrically charged man out of the drink?"
Xander came up with an idea that probably wouldn't work, but he'd try anyway.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on reversing the electro-molecular polarity
of his body, as he'd done while he was kissing Spike.
Bands of electricity flowed from Xander's body, a physical manifestation of
his wild powers. The blue-white tendrils slid into the water like serpents,
searching to wrap around their prey. The tendrils were controlled mentally by
Xander, like the bracelets he would sometimes create around Spike's wrist.
Unlike the visible lightning bolts, which were electro-molecules lighting up in
a set pattern, the bands of electricity came from within Xander's body and were
attracted to the most densely packed electro-molecular object, like a magnet. In
this case: Spike.
That was the theory anyway. With Xander's luck, he'd probably pull in a
whale.
Xander felt a tug on his electric fishing line, and he made himself stay
focused and guide his fish to shore. He knelt, glowing eyes closed behind his
sunglasses, and put his hands, palms up, on the sand. Something cold, wet, and
very still settled on his hands.
Xander opened his eyes. "Shit." The brunette stared down at the lifeless body
in front of him as the bands of electricity began to form a protective visible
barrier around them both. Xander pressed his fingers against Spike's neck,
searching for a pulse, then realized what he was doing.
"Vampire, moron," he cursed himself. Spike's features were slack, and Xander
wondered if he'd drowned, which would be odd since vampires didn't breathe.
Still, since Xander hadn't any idea what else to do, he started CPR. After
tilting Spike's head back and pinching his nose, Xander sealed his lips over the
soggy blond's and blew twice, ignoring the tiny lightening bolts dancing between
their mouths. Then, Xander crossed his hands over Spike's unbeating heart,
centered his weight, and performed ten compressions. His hands glowed blue-white
as he did so, and he knew he was shocking Spike's heart like a pair of emergency
medical shock paddles.
Xander was thinking desperately for something else to try after four more
cycles, when Spike suddenly surged to life, vomiting up blood and seawater. "Oh,
thank God," Xander breathed, turning the blond on his side as he continued to
spit up the gallons of ocean he'd swallowed.
Spike began coughing hard, curling his arms around his waist, the side of his
face becoming coated with white sand. Xander rubbed small circles on the other
man's back, murmuring comforting nonsense words.
When Spike's coughing turned into uncontrolled crying, Xander gathered the
blond to him and held tight. "You're okay, Spike... you're safe... I've got
you...," Xander cooed softly. "I've got you... you're okay..."
End
