“Ok, see ya, Tara, I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye!”
Willow put the phone back in the cradle, humming happily to herself. She picked up her glass and drained the last mouthful, then slowly and merrily made her way down the stairs to rejoin the party. Her happiness wasn’t even broken by the sight of a girl doubled over in what looked like drunken despair on the bottom step. She only smiled worriedly at the two boys throwing up out the back window. She was bemused by the couple hugging their knees on the couch, missing the stricken looks in their bloodshot eyes. It wasn’t until she saw the girl from her English class last year, on the floor, curled up into a shivering ball, with the slightest trail of blood running across the carpet from her face, that she began to be afraid. Her first thought was an overdose, then she was the next one, and the next, and the next, dozens of them…those who weren’t gagging, or coughing, were holding tissues and sleeves to their mouths, trying to stop the pain, and the flow of blood. Those few who could were starting to scream.
Willow stopped and stared, stared at all of them, uncomprehending, drowning, helpless. Then she knew what to do.
“BUFFY!!!!!”
Xander and Buffy sprang apart. “Willow” he said, leaping to his feet. Giles followed. As Buffy rose to follow them, she tripped and fell, her knee bouncing off her metal bed post. She grunted in pain, but waved the others ahead as they turned to help her. Xander didn’t need to be told twice.
They passed Riley on the way there, as he ran to get his girlfriend. “What’s going on?” Xander called as he ran by.
“I don’t know” Riley yelled back, panic in his usually calm voice. Giles’ purposeful stride broke into a run to match Xander’s speed. He had recognised the smell coming from the common room, and fear pushed his legs forward. It was the sweet, earthy smell of blood.
The room was in chaos. People had had enough time to realise that the entire party was being affected, to see the worst cases around them - the people with blood already staining their shirts and arms in dark brown streams. Fear was now rolling through the room, pumping through their veins. Water was being passed around rapidly by those who could stand, desperately swallowed and spat out, over and over again. Blood and bile stained the carpet, and clothes, and faces, and the stench was growing with the panic.
Xander and Giles shared Willow’s pose, speechless, helpless at the size of it all, at how many there were. At how many might die. But Giles had been a teacher, and his skills hadn’t faded. He stepped up onto a chair. “Everyone calm down!” he ordered. “You’re going to be alright. We’ve called an ambulance, it will be here soon.” He bent and whispered to the two beneath him. “Willow, go call an ambulance.” She nodded and ran.
“Does anyone have any idea what might have caused this? It has to be something we all ate or drank” he asked to the crowd. They only stared at him in silent agony.
Xander clicked his fingers and pointed. “The punch,. Somebody spiked the punch. That’s gotta be it”
There was a squeak from behind them. Willow rushed back into the room. “The Dragon’s Tears!!!” she gibbered. I accidentally put some Dragon’s Tears in - “
“Willow, Dragon’s Tears is harmless when diluted. Go!” Giles pointed. Willow ran up the stairs, whimpering.
“Alright” he said to all of them. “It seems most likely that somebody has, er, spiked the punch. And, presumably unintentionally, added something toxic to the mix. Now, it is very important that we know what was added so we know how to treat you. So please, does anyone know what happened? Did anyone see anything”
There was silence, except for shivers of pain.
“Don’t be foolish now” Giles chided. “This is no time for keeping quiet or thinking this is some hilarious practical joke. This is very serious, these people need immediate medical attention or they could die. If you know anything, you must speak up now, if we’re going to help them.”
A quake of gasps and screams rocked the audience. “Giles, you’re scaring them to death” whispered Xander, helping a girl to drink the cup of Coke she could no longer hold still.
“This is your last chance!” Giles yelled, his own panic beginning to rise. “People are dying here, you, you…pack of idiots! How can you stand by and -“
“I know” broke in a voice from the back.
The crowd parted, and Paul stepped forward. The red-flecked handkerchief over his mouth had kept his sensible white shirt and tie pristine. He nervously ran his other hand through his hair.
“It - it was Dale. He told me he was working on it, but he didn’t tell me he’d made it work. I didn’t think he was going to use it! I was hoping he -”
“Use what?” said Giles and Xander in unison.
“Holy water”
Willow descended the stairs to find Giles and Xander pulling Paul into the dorm corridor. “What the Hell are you talking about?” Giles whispered with rage. “You know as well as I do that holy water is simply water blessed by a priest! It does not have this kind of a reaction on humans.”
“Giles, the ambulance is on its way” Willow said, over the top. Giles simply nodded, still waiting for his answer.
Paul looked nervously between his interrogators. He coughed some more specks of blood into his handkerchief and it turned into a sob.
“It’s not - it’s a special recipe. I don’t know how, but Dale found a book which had instructions for making a special type of holy water. Stronger - more pure. He said the Templars came up with it. He said they used it to strike down anyone who didn’t serve God.”
“Anyone who…” Giles repeated, as the penny dropped. “’You cannot serve both God and man’” he quoted. “It’s harming anyone who’s sinned, isn’t it? Or at least, whatever you boys happen to think is sin” He paused, speechless with rage. "You…..pillocks!” he cursed, pushing the boy backwards in disgust.
“What does that mean, anyone who’s sinned? What counts as a sin?” said Xander.
Giles looked daggers at Paul. “Let me guess. Drunkenness, yes? Gluttony? Lust? Sloth? Lewd behaviour? Listening to rock and roll?” he listed with dark sarcasm. “In short, Xander, this substance is going to be poison to absolutely everyone who happens to be in attendance at a student party.” He shook his head in disgust.
“So it’s doing something like what it does to vampires, only on the inside.” Willow said with growing terror. “To anyone who’s not…doing Christian-y things.”
They paused, and shared a look at Paul’s bloodied lips and stained chin. Then Xander remembered something.
“Oh God! ANYA!”
Xander tore through the crowd, fighting his way into the kitchen, searching every face he saw. Willow turned to Giles. “Giles, we have to stop this! It’s going to kill them!” she squeaked.
“I don’t think there’s really anything we can do, until the ambulance gets here.”
Giles said, hopelessly. “Unless we can somehow flush it out of them, or, or dilute it.”
“Keep them drinking water! And stop them from exerting themselves,” Willow agreed, remembering her first aid treatment.
Giles strode back into the common room and stepped onto the chair to address the party once more. “Alright, please listen. It seems that you’ve all contracted, ah, food poisoning, from an unknown substance, but you’ll, er, you’ll all be alright once the ambulance gets here.”
“Giles” said Willow, quietly, remembering something.
“What you all need to do is to keep drinking as much water as you can, and to stay calm. Also, you should try and move outside. Just take it slowly, yes, help each other.”
“Giles” said Willow again.
“Move into the quad, get some water from the fountains and then lie down. The ambulance will be here any minute and it will be much easier to treat you if you are all outside. So just get some water and then stay put.”
“Giles!” said Willow again.
Giles finally turned. “What is it, Willow?”
“Where’s Buffy?"
Xander’s mind was empty. All he knew that everyone he saw was not Anya. She was nowhere, and she was dying. With each person he helped up or pushed past, she was suffering more. Every face that was not hers was another second of her life was ticking away. And still he could not find her.
The last resort was the pile of people squatting and collapsing near the women’s toilets. One by one, he helped them up, told them what had happened, moved them outside. One by one, each face was not Anya. And with the last, Xander’s hope was gone. She was lost, and that meant forever.
Tears stinging his eyes, he collapsed back against the toilet door. He jumped as he realised it was unlatched, then caught himself - the door had only moved an inch and he was in no danger of falling. Only an inch, his brain repeated. It must have hit something. A line at the door. And then he knew.
Desperately, he threw his shoulder against the door and felt the weight behind it slide slightly, enough for him to get his hand and wrist in the gap, to feel around. His hand touched the tiles and came away wet. He pulled his hand back to see each finger daubed with crimson.
“BUFFY!!!!!!!”
“I’m here, Willow,” Buffy coughed.
Willow and Giles turned to see Buffy limping down the corridor, half supported by Riley. A few lines of blood traced her T-shirt. “I’m - I think I’m OK. What’s going on?” she asked, dazed.
Giles told her, and soon her fearful expression darkened into a scowl. “Dale” she cursed.
“But….” began Riley, “how did…Buffy’s been in her room all night. She hasn’t had any punch since…”
“Since Dale handed me a glass as a peace offering” finished Buffy dryly. “I’ll kill him. I’ll find him and I’ll rip off his -“ Buffy was cut off as she almost fell, and was caught by Riley.
“Buffy, you don’t look OK” said Willow. “You should rest.”
“No, Wil, I’m OK. Slayer strength and all. I just feel a bit…queasy.”
“Yes, you - you need to sit down” said Giles, and they carefully lowered her into a chair.
“No,” she continued, “we have to find Dale. Make him…talk. Find out…if there’s an ant…anti…anti…thingy”.
Giles blinked. “Of course! Holy water has no antidote, so I didn’t even think of it. B-but this is something different. Something so dangerous must have an - “
“An antithingy” said Buffy again. Then she lapsed into a coughing fit
“Willow, quick - get her some water” said Giles, absent-mindedly. “Riley, stay with her. I’ll go and have another word with our friend Paul.”
Paul was almost at the exterior doors when Giles grabbed his shoulder. He turned to see Giles, deathly calm, maintaining his grip. “The antidote. What is it?” he asked with menacing pleasantness.
“What?”
“The antidote, man! There must be one - or a counterspell, something!”
“I, I don’t - “
“Would Dale know?”
“What? Maybe, yeah, sure - ”
“Where is he?”
“He…I don’t know!”
Giles’ grip tightened just slightly.
“Ow - he - he took off! I don’t know where he went!”
“Then I suggest you think harder. Because if we don’t find him, a lot of people could die….”
“But I don’t - “
Giles tightened his grip just a bit more. “…and I am going to get very mad.”
“OK, OK, let me think…um…”
“Come on! Think!” Giles grabbed him with both hands in desperation. “You let this happen by following that lunatic. Don’t let it get any worse.”
Paul looked into Giles’ darkly serious eyes, paralysed by guilt and terror under his gaze. Finally, he found words. “He…he might go back to church. I - I mean a real church.”
“Where? On campus?”
“I don’t know!” Paul sobbed, broken. “He said…when he left…something about sanctuary…holy ground...”
Giles closed his eyes with revelation but held his grip tight. “Holy ground….of course.” He turned back to the boy, suddenly noticing his complete terror. He smiled and released him, embarrassed. “...er, good. Thank you. Now, now, go and join the others, quickly.” Paul ran off, terrified.
Willow was handing Buffy her water when Giles came storming back into the room. She jumped to attention .“I know where Dale is,” he announced.
“Where?”
“Willow, find…find your student diary or handbook or whatever. We need to find the nearest Catholic church to the campus.”
“Oh I know that” said Riley. “But…Dale’s not Catholic. Is he?”
“I doubt it,” said Giles. “But, well, I think that he thinks that he’s a templar. A holy knight. Don’t you see? He’s playing out his own fantasy here, his own holy war. And where does a knight go when he needs sanctuary?”
“A church,” said Willow.
“And, seeing how it’s a psycho-freaky fantasy with knights and dragons and crusades…” continued Buffy, “our boy Dale’s gonna want the oldest, biggest, prettiest church he can find. One with all that medieval…stuff. Stone floors.” Buffy ran out of words.
“Gothic spires” said Giles.
“Stained glass windows” added Willow.
“Got it. I know just the one. More stained glass than the Vatican. In fact, they just had a new one put in. And it’s pretty close - just down the road from the back fields.” He gave them the address.
“Good. Riley, you better stay here and look after Buffy - and, and the others.” Giles began running for the door. “Willow, come with me we’ll - “
He stopped when he saw Xander.
He was staggering out from the kitchen, his shirt stained scarlet, his whole body straining under the weight he carried, his eyes full of tears. Lying unconscious in his arms, her dress black with blood, was Anya. “Help?” Xander managed to croak, and then he sank to his knees, lost in despair.
Giles ran and crouched beside him. “She’s still got a pulse,” he shouted to the room. “Help me get her up again. We’ve got to get her to the hospital.” Buffy leapt to her feet to help him, only to double over instantly, clutching her stomach.
“What about the ambulance?” said Willow, hovering a few steps back, unsure which patient needed her the most.
“No time!” exhaled Giles, taking the girl’s weight and standing. “We’ll take my car, it’s right outside.”
“OK” nodded Willow. Xander said nothing; his eyes had not left Anya.
The two men lifted her again and shuffled through the door as quickly as they could. “Riley, look after Buffy,” Giles called back, desperately. “Willow, get to that church! Find the antidote! Then call the hospital!”
“OK” Willow nodded again. “It’s OK,” said Willow, “we can handle it. Go!”
Giles gave her one last desperate look, indecision and worry dancing across his face, and then the door was shut again and they were gone. Willow turned around and looked at the now almost empty room, strangely quiet as the chaos departed. She bit her lip. The job was far from over, and the rest was all up to her.
Riley had Buffy back in her chair again. “Dammit” she whined. “Buffy, you need to stay still, OK? Slayer strength or not, that stuff is nasty. And you probably got a bigger dose - it could still kill you.”
“He’s right, Buff,” said Willow, joining them. “We don’t know what this is doing to you. You really need to rest.”
“No!” Buffy shouted. “I’m sorry” she said, rubbing her eyes. “I know you guys mean well, but you’re pushing too much here. I said I’m OK and I meant it. Trust me.”
“But - “
“No buts, Riley. This is not the time to play nursemaid. I heard what Giles said - we have to find Dale and get the antidote or Anya is going to die.”
“OK, sure, we have to do that,” said Willow. “But you’re in no condition to help. I mean, you can barely walk!”
Buffy took a deep breath and slowly stood up. “I don’t need to walk,” she said darkly. “I just need to fight.”
The other two looked at her in confusion.
“Oh come on, guys. You think Mr Holy Knight is going to just hand over the antidote if we ask him nicely? This is his dream come true, and he won’t give it up without a fight. I’m the only one who can stop him.”
“Wrong” said Riley, standing also. “I can do this. It’s only Dale.”
“Only Dale? ONLY Dale? Riley, did you see what happened here? Don't you see what he’s capable of?”
“Buffy, he may be a bit crazy, but he’s not a demon! I mean, I know his parents! I go to church with them!”
“Exactly. You’re too close to him. You can’t treat him as a threat!”
“Maybe because he isn’t one? Buffy, listen - he’s just a normal human being!”
The heavy oak doors scraped across the cold stone as Dale catapulted through them. “Father! FATHER!” he bellowed, the echoes ringing a hundred times to the cavernous ceiling of the church. Every step did the same as he flailed down the aisle to the central dais. The robed figure turned as his voice, and cowered as Dale leapt toward him, grabbing him with exultation.
“It worked, Father! It worked! The Tears of the Virgin! It WORKED!” he shrieked, embracing the priest so hard he lifted him off the ground. Then just as suddenly, he dropped him and began to twirl and dance, hands held high with praise.
“I did it! I did what no man since Molay has done! I have the power, just like you said.”
“You…you created it? You broke the code?!”
Dale turned back to him and spread his hands in acknowledgment. “I did. I cracked Trimethius' code. And then it was simply a matter of chemistry. I knew my Chem degree would be worth something one day,” he chuckled.
The priest was still trembling. “I did not believe it could be done….”
“Oh, what cannot be done, for those of us who have faith, Father?” Dale laughed to the ceiling.
“And…and do you have it with you?”
“Have it? Father, I’ve already put it to work in the Lord’s name!”
The priest fell back on the stairs of the dais. “You…oh dear God…”
Dale wasn’t listening. “And it was glorious, Father! The wicked were burned with righteous fire! Cleansed by the very hand of the Lord!” Dale was laughing with every sentence now.
“What…what did you do? What have you done?”
Dale kneeled down and pushed his face right next to the quivering priest. “What have I done?” he giggled. “I’ve started it, Father. I've changed the world. I spiked their punch, and changed the world forever!”
With that yell, he leapt to his feet and ran down the aisle again, sliding to his knees beneath the cruciform above the door. The priest shakily got to his feet and ran after him. “Dale, Dale, you…you must leave now. You must get away. I don’t know exactly what you’ve done, but if the Tears…” the priest broke off, choked with fear. ‘They’ll come for you, Dale. They’ll come to take you away.”
At this, Dale only laughed again, and pulled another bottle from his pocket. Rising to his feet, he unscrewed the lid, and tipped the bottle to the statue of Christ in a mock toast. “Let them come, Father. Let them come. They shall not find me unready” he said, raising the bottle to his lips.
“Look, we don’t have time for this, OK?” interjected Willow. “You guys need to get to that church fast.”
“Alright” said Riley. “There’s nothing I can do to change your mind?”
“No” said Buffy, firmly.
“Alright then. But I’m coming with you.” Buffy shot him a cold look, but he ignored her. “Willow, you stay here and look after things. I’ve got my mobile - I’ll call here as soon as we know anything.”
“OK. But just go!” pleaded Willow.
“Alright, Wil. We’ll go.” Buffy pulled herself to her feet. She wobbled for a second, then stood straight. The two marched for the door. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll find Dale, we’ll get the antidote, we’ll call you, and we’ll call Giles at the hospital and everything will be - “ Buffy was interrupted by the sound of Willow violently coughing. She and Riley turned to see Willow looking at her hand in confusion. A small line of blood spots ran along it. Willow looked up at her two friends, who were frozen still, staring at her with deep fear in their eyes. She said one word.
“Go”
Buffy charged down the corridor, but after a few paces, she stumbled. She was back up again immediately, determined to stay ahead of Riley. She went a few paces, then had to stop again, dizzy.
“I can do this,” Buffy said, pre-emptively. “I don’t need help.”
“Wrong. We need to get their fast, or these people will be in real trouble. And maybe you can stand, and fight, but you do not have the legs for running right now.”
Buffy was confused. “So what’s your plan?”
“I think you should use mine.”
Beyond Stevenson, the campus was dark and silent and empty. A single light illuminated the path behind the cafeteria to the hall. Suddenly, the stillness was fractured as Riley came pounding along at top speed, Buffy securely straddling his back.
“Why - are - we - going - this - way?” she yelled as she bounced up and down with each step he took. “We’ll - have - to - double - back!”
“No! We can cut through the creek! Old Initiative shortcut!”
“Are - you - sure?”
“Hey, who’s the legs of this outfit, huh?”
“Hmmpf,” Buffy pouted, and grabbed on tighter. Riley charged down the hill and leapt up over the garden bed like a stallion.
“Yeehaa!” she yelled. “Heigh ho - Riley, Away-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay…” she jolted, as they disappeared amongst the trees.
The seesawing squeal of the sirens roared past them as Giles pulled into the parking lot. “Help - please help! She needs a doctor - now!” Giles pleaded, running around to help Xander who already had Anya halfway out of the car. “I got her” he said, shrugging off Giles’ help. He lifted her easily into her arms and charged forward through the glass doors.
And then there were doctors and nurses everywhere, swarming all over him and her, and then her weight was gone, and she was rolling away on a guerney, the swarm of white enveloping her totally. Xander watched silently as they slammed through the trauma room doors, leaving him and Giles alone. He kept staring after them until he found what he had to say.
“You make her BETTER!” he yelled.
Riley reached the top of the hill, saw the road and dropped to his knees. His breath came in ragged gasps. “Whew…” he managed. “We’re there. Jus’…jus’ down the road…a bit now...”
“You OK?”
Riley managed to smile and gave the thumbs up. “Just fine” he wheezed, lifting to his feet again.
The grey stone church has originally been built as part of a school, making use of the same parkland area the university did. Now, the school was closed and the small but stately church existed more for weddings than its small congregation. For those occasions, it looked quaint and somehow overly detailed, like an intricate toy. But tonight, through the thick summer air, it seemed to brood before them, the fine lines of gothic detail becoming a million pricks of light and flitting shadows. And behind it, in the darkness, scaffolding hung from the roof like a spider-web, still holding the brand new stained-glass window in place. Through the thin crack of the open door, they could see a faint, glimmering amber light.
Riley gently lowered Buffy to the ground. “It’s OK” she said, “I can walk now.”
“Oh good..” panted Riley. “Because I don’t think I can….” he sagged down to sit on the stone stairs leading up to the door. Buffy gently patted his shoulder and tried to push open the doors.
“OK” she said. “You stay put and get your breath back. You got me here, I can do the rest now.” Buffy saw his look. “Don’t worry. I’m getting stronger all the time. And I’ll be careful,” she assured him. Riley was going to protest, but he couldn’t find the air. He could only wave his assent. She patted him kindly on the shoulder, wordlessly thanking him for caring. Then she pushed open the doors.
The church was cold and silent. The only light came from the candles near the front altar, which made the stone walls sway in and out of sight as the breeze blew across them. The wooden rafters, high up, were lost in darkness; only the ever-resounding echoes hinted that there was something solid above. Buffy froze for a second, awed by the stillness.
“Buffy.” Boomed a voice from the shadows.. “You’re stronger than you look”
Buffy looked around, unable to locate the speaker. “Yeah, I get that a lot”
“Have you come to ‘kick my ass’ then?”
Buffy silently padded down the aisle, one foot in front of the other. “Well, I’m sure that would be a whole lotta fun, but we don’t have time. You need to listen to me - “
“Listen to you? Listen to you?! I don’t think so.”
“Dale, people are going to die if - “
“First Timothy, Chapter 2, Verse 12!!!” the voice roared. “’Women shall learn in SILENCE and HUMILITY, for I do NOT allow them to teach. Or have any authority over men!’”
The shout rang in her ears, making her dizzy again, but she did not falter. Her eyes stopped searching as she saw a moment of movement in the back left corner, underneath the tall arched stained-glass window. She was about to break into a charge when she saw the priest.
“’Women must be quiet’” he continued with the quote, more calmly. “’For Adam was created first, then Eve...’”
The old man’s face was bloody, but he still had a strong pulse. Buffy stood up again and walked up the stairs of the dais.
“’It was woman that was the deceiver. It was WOMAN who broke God’s law.’” The voice now dripped with venom.
Buffy just rolled her eyes. “Let me guess - she dumped you on prom night, right?"
There was a growl and a sound of steel on stone. Buffy went into a combat stance as the figure coalesced from the shadows and came towards her. Buffy’s eyes widened in fear.
“Dale?”
The giant figure smiled. “No, I don’t think so. Not any more.”