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Chapter Fifteen Buffy looked around at the six expectant faces. This was definitely awkward. This kind of lecture stuff was never her forte, not to mention she’d be giving orders to her CO. It was not the normal order of things. “Okay, I know that everyone here has experience out in the field and that you’ve been trained to ‘eliminate’ the enemy. Fighting vampires is not like fighting the Goa’uld or the human enemy on Earth. This is a completely different ballgame.” “How?” Sam asked. “Because for the most part, your enemy has been at a distance. Yeah, I know you guys get the hand-to-hand training, but you tend to rely on your guns. You can’t do that with vampires, especially since guns don’t really hurt them. But fighting a vampire is never done from a distance… Well, sometimes it can be, but usually not ‘cause they’re right on top of you before you know it… For normal humans anyway…” She trailed off of her babbling when she saw their confused looks. “Let me try this again. You can’t kill a vampire without help from something, but vampires don’t need anything but themselves to kill you. Fighting them is usually face-to-face. They have to do it that way in order to feed. They aren’t trying to kill you because you are the enemy; they kill you because you are their food. And just because they look human, doesn’t mean they are.” She sighed. “A friend of mine once pointed out that the slayer has to reach for her weapon, the vampire doesn’t. They are the weapon.” “So do the traditional methods work?” Daniel asked. “Some do, some don’t. Sunlight works, but I doubt we’ll see these guys out and about during the day. They’re probably well hidden. But just because it’s daytime doesn’t mean they’re asleep. Beheading works and a wooden stake through the heart, and it doesn’t even have to be a stake. Dawn… Dawn and Willow have both used pencils to dust a vampire.” “Garlic doesn’t work in the slightest, and crosses and holy water will only hold them back. If the vampire is old and strong enough, the cross won’t do much anyway. They can endure a great deal of pain.” Her mind briefly flashed on Spike draping himself on a cross in an abandoned church. She remembered how he had stayed there until she had pulled him off. “An important thing to remember is that vampires are stronger and faster than humans. You’ve been fighting the Jaffa and Goa’uld so you should be used to being outmatched. But just because they’re stronger and faster, doesn’t mean they’re smarter. In general, vampires are pretty dumb,” she said with a shrug. “Lucky for us,” Simon said under his breath. Thor’s voice came over the intercom. “Slayer, we will reach the planet in fifteen minutes. Is there any particular place you wish to beam down to?” “The main village, or wherever the head guy is. I just need to talk to someone in the know down there.” “Very well.” “I guess it’s weapon time then,” she said with a grim smile. She knelt down next to a huge duffel bag at her feet. She opened it up and from inside a side pocket she removed a bunch of stakes. They were quickly handed out until everyone had two, except for Daniel and Jeff. They had three. “These will be your primary weapons. Just remember that anything wooden will do. So if you find a stick lying on the ground, it will work. Don’t be afraid to improvise.” “And you have to hit the heart,” Jack added. Buffy glared at him. “I knew I shouldn’t have told you that story. I’m never going to live it down.” “What story?” Simon asked. “The first time she tried to stake a vampire she missed its heart,” Jack said with a grin. “Jack, do you want me to tell them about the first time you tried to stake a vampire?” She sweetly asked. “Uhh, no. That’s fine,” he said hastily. “That’s what I thought,” she said with a smirk. Returning to lecture mode, she said, “Make sure the stakes are within easy reach. You may only have a split second to reach for it, so don’t bury it in a pocket.” She demonstrated by placing her stake in the back of her waistband. “Why’s yours all special and curly?” Dave asked. “It’s Mr. Pointy,” she said with a slight pout. “He’s a special stake.” “A special stake?” “Yes, a special stake.” She handed Sam and Simon each a crossbow before handing Jack, Dave and Teal’c each a sword. Daniel and Jeff both pouted when all she gave them was a cross and squirt guns filled with holy water. “We don’t get any fun toys?” Jeff asked. “You guys are… Well, I was worried…” “Oh, for cryin’ in a bucket, Buffy,” Jeff said with a roll of his eyes. “You can trust us with sharp objects.” “The Air Force even lets us play with guns,” Daniel reminded her. “Fine! You can have axes, but only if you promise not to hurt yourselves.” “We’ll try,” Daniel assured her. Buffy pulled out the last two major weapons in the bag. She frowned slightly as she saw a small white envelope at the bottom with her name written on it in Willow’s handwriting. She had other things to concentrate on at that moment than Willow so she folded it and put it in her pocket before handing out the axes. “Which weapon will you carry?” Teal’c asked. “Something special,” she said with a grin. “As if the special stake wasn’t enough?” Dave asked wryly. She ignored him as she went over to the object Thor had beamed up. The scythe easily came out of the stone and she gave it a quick twirl. “This weapon was created specifically for the slayer. Others can use it, but every slayer who has held it can feel a connection to it.” “May I see it?” Sam asked. “Sure,” Buffy said, handing it over. Sam pursed her lips in thought as she looked it over. She seemed to concentrate on the cutting edge. “This has naquadah in it.” “Huh?” “The same material that the gate is made from is inside the blade and probably trinium as well. I’d have to run some tests to be positive, though. They’re both very powerful and durable metals.” “Maybe that’s why I’ve never had to sharpen it,” Buffy said thoughtfully. “And it cut through Turok-hans without a problem.” “Turok-hans?” Daniel asked, curiosity shining in his blue eyes. “Uber-vamps. Trust me, you don’t want to meet one.” Mentally Buffy prayed that the vamps on that planet weren’t Turok-hans. She didn’t want to relive that experience and her friends wouldn’t be able to help her. “Hey, Carter, hand that thing over,” Jack said. A look of approval crossed his face as he looked it over. “Sweet.” “Don’t hog all the fun,” Dave said next to him. He took the scythe out of Jack’s hands. “Not bad. A little small for me, but since you’re a midget it should be fine for you.” Buffy rolled her eyes. “Ha, ha, Dave. Let’s not forget that I can kick your ass seven ways from Sunday.” “May I?” Teal’c asked and Dave handed it over to the Jaffa. He twirled it a few times before holding it so it lay across both of his large hands. “This is a perfectly balanced weapon, Buffy Summers. I am not surprised that it serves you well.” He handed it over to her with a small bow of his head. Her eyes widened slightly and her voice was a little thick as she replied, “Thanks.” She cleared her throat and said, “Oh! Important things to remember on the surface. I’m in charge.” “Excuse me?” Sam asked in surprise. “Got a problem with that?” Buffy asked. “I do. We have two ranking officers here. One is your CO and the other is the second in command of the SGC.” “True, but this is my area of expertise. Jack has gone on patrol with me before, but he’s never been in a full-fledged battle with vampires before. We have no idea what to expect down there. I have, ergo, I’m the one with the most expertise and I’m the one in charge.” “I’ll follow her lead,” Dave said and the rest of the SG-13 nodded their heads without hesitation. Sam looked over at Jack. “Sir?” “Oh, come off it, Carter. She’s the expert. Don’t I defer to you or Daniel or Teal’c if you’re more in the know than me?” Jack asked in exasperation. “Yes, sir,” she said grudgingly. “Then let Buffy do her thing,” Jack said, giving Sam a warning look. “I don’t really have a plan yet, but that’s nothing new. I have to get the layout down there and talk to whoever knows what’s going on.” There was a flash of light and the group suddenly found themselves on the surface. “Okay,” Buffy said looking around. “Guess I’ll get to that plan sooner than I thought. Let’s find the guy in charge.” XXXXXXXXXX Jack stood as Buffy exited the building where she had been talking with the village elders. He was slightly bolstered by the fact that Buffy didn’t look too worried. She walked over to them and smiled. “There are five villages each with about ten to fifteen vamps terrorizing them. From what I’ve gathered, they only kill two or three people a month.” “Why?” Sam asked. “There’s an awful lot of them compared to villagers. It’s so they don’t run out of food,” she said with a shrug. “Umm, ew,” Daniel said. “They’re vampires,” Jack reminded him. “Yeah, but to think that they keep track of us like that…” “But the villagers have seen dead animals so they do have an alternate food source. The humans must be some sort of special treat…” Buffy smiled apologetically at Daniel who was starting to turn a little green around the edges. “Any idea where their daytime hideout is?” Jack asked. “Not yet, but I don’t think it’s anywhere in the village. Jace said there aren’t any abandoned buildings so they’re probably in the surrounding forest.” “Well, that sounds like a swell time,” Dave said. “Can’t wait.” Buffy grinned at him. “We’ll get to stay in some of the villagers’ homes. So you guys can go get settled and I’ll catch up with you later.” “Wait a minute,” Jack said. “Where are you going?” “I’m going to do a quick sweep to get some idea of where to start tonight.” Her hazel eyes bored into him, pleading for him to understand. “Just don’t get lost,” he said with a sigh after a long moment. “Jace will show you to the houses.” Then she made her way down the dirt road. Jack watched her until she disappeared as the others were led away. As much as he wanted to be there for her, he knew that sometimes she just needed to be alone. There had been a lot of changes in her life over the past twenty-four hours so it was no surprise to him that she needed to return to some normalcy. “Damn, I thought I was breaking her of that habit,” Dave said from beside him. “What habit?” “The loner thing.” “The slayer was designed to be alone,” Jack said sadly. “She once told me that she always feels alone, even around her friends, but it’s better now. I don’t think it’s just because of me.” Jack gave Dave a pointed look. “Well, I guess that’s something,” Dave said, giving Jack a quick pat on the shoulder. “Let’s go check out these rooms.” XXXXXXXXXX The sun was just starting to set when Buffy returned. Jack gave her a small smile as the group gathered around the kitchen table in one of the houses. She shyly smiled back at him as he handed her a glass of water. “How’d it go?” Dave asked, plopping into one of the chairs. “Not bad. They definitely aren’t in the town or the immediate area. I did a sweep of the whole town and sensed nothing. The closest village is a three day walk, so they’ve got a building or a cave they’ve found,” she said, taking a drink of water. “I need something to write on and with.” Daniel walked over to his pack and pulled out his notebook and pen. “Here.” Buffy roughly sketched out a map of the village. “I was never good at art, but I’m sure you’ll understand this,” she said apologetically. “In order to cover a lot of ground, we should split up into pairs. Me and Jeff, Dave and Simon, Jack and Daniel, and Sam and Teal’c.” She began circling areas of the surrounding forest. “Each pair will take an area. Hmm… Do a radio check-in every half-hour. Then we’ll meet back here at about two.” “Two? Why so early?” Sam asked. “We have all night.” The slayer shook her head. “Not necessarily. Jace said they just found a body two days ago, which means they won’t be coming to town to eat. Even if they did come to town to ‘hang out’ these people go to bed pretty early because they get up early.” “And any animal they would feed from would also retire early. That would decrease the probability of finding them,” Teal’c said in understanding. “Plus, you’ll be getting tired and that makes you sloppy. Sloppy causes that other thing,” Buffy said. “Other thing?” Jeff asked in confusion. “Death,” Jack said calmly. The archaeologist’s eyes widened slightly and he solemnly nodded. “Everyone know the plan?” Buffy asked the group and they all gave her an affirmative response. “Then let’s hunt.” Previous Chapter Undertow Menu Next Chapter |
