Made by nmcil



Chapter Eighteen:





The halls were filled with wide, doorless openings that called out to her, inviting her to step into one of them. Her feet twitched slightly as she walked after the guard to the bathroom, begging for the permission to run away. She would have if it weren't for the muzzle poking her back. She focused her gaze at the guard's back, willing her mind not to be lured by the great number of wide exits they were passing.

The trip to the bathroom this time seemed longer than the last, probably because Buffy and Reem were taken there separately after their last adventure. She noticed the broken ventilation shaft, not fixed yet. They'd attempted to escape only last night, yet it felt like ages.

The guard opened the bathroom door for her, and she walked in, her full bladder filling her with discomfort. She stopped, turned around, and her jaw dropped when one of the guards was right behind her. Inside the ladies’ room. He pressed his weapon against her shoulder, silently ordering her to finish her business. She walked to one of the stalls, her eyes still on him as he followed. Was he going to stand right in front of her door?

"Uhm, are you by any chance willing to skip lunch and dinner today? 'Cause I gotta tell you, this bladder won't empty itself for a while."

He frowned.

She rolled her eyes. "I can't do anything with your ear so close to the supposedly private little room."

"Oh." He walked to the sinks, his weapon still pointed at Buffy, and turned the water on. "Is this better?"

Buffy shrugged and went inside, almost asking him to hum some song while she was in there, but figured it was best not to push his buttons. She looked up from where she was sitting, expecting to see the ventilation shaft grate they'd escaped from, but realized she was in another stall. That stupid and desperate attempt to break out was the only clever idea Buffy could think of in her normal condition. Things would have been different if she still had her Slayer powers.

She heaved a sigh and flushed the toilet. Outside, the guard turned off the water and pointed at a shower stall to the right. "You can take a shower if you want."

Buffy stared at the booth with its transparent screen and knew she wouldn't be given the privacy for that. "Pass," she said, heading outside. Right now all she wanted was to be back in her cell before the end of lunch time.


~*~*~*~



They'd just had their lunch –same lousy meal again- and now they waited. Sitting on her knees next to the slot in the door, Buffy held the tray in her hands while Reem was lying on her bed, using her twisted arm as a pillow.

"I don't know, Buffy. Someone obviously used a tray to escape before."

"It never hurts to try." She clutched the sides with frustration. Of course, someone had used it before, and they'd obviously failed. Whatever idea popped into her head was so predictable and unlikely to work, but there was no room for giving up in her book. Whatever was there, she'd use it, even if it was the tasteless pork slices. "I hate this."

"We all hate this."

"No, I hate being this helpless. So… useless." Every thought that crossed her mind was met with a veto. Their exit was covered in verdant, spiny vines, and they had no swords to slash their way out. The jerks had taken away their swords, leaving them with nothing but trays and plastic cutlery.

Reem levered herself up on one elbow and rested her head on one hand. "Someone will find us. One day."

Buffy glared fireballs at the useless tray. "That's not how I work."

Reem twisted her lips, lying on her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows, ankles crossed and swaying idly in the air. "That's because you used to be the only Slayer, the only superhero; you did the saving."

"Thank you for stating the obvious."

Reem smacked her legs down on the bed. "But even superheroes need to be rescued from time to time."

"Not this superhero."

Reem's eyebrows went up so far they almost skipped the hairline. "You mean you've never been in trouble? Not ever?"

Buffy fought the urge to hit the floor with the tray, and decided to close her eyes and remember. She swore she'd been saved by her friends more than once, but all she could see in memory lane was her driving Mr. Pointy into the hearts of countless vampires for so many nights since she'd moved to Sunnydale. There was no doubt that she wouldn't have made it this far if it weren't for those who loved her and followed her to the end, but she couldn't deny that it had been she who did most of the work, she who came up with the ideas, and she whose rescue missions outnumbered their research sessions.

And at this moment, she remembered a time when she'd believed in herself without their speeches, without their help. Her hands caught the tray before it slipped from her fingers. She opened her eyes and looked at Reem with confidence. "I've been in trouble. No doubt. But I was the one to get myself out."

Reem narrowed her eyes at her, not swayed by her confidence and strength. "Do you know what you sound like? A miserable, lonely person."

"I'm not lonely." Buffy gritted her teeth.

"You're not, since you have that gay werewolf-dating friend. But obviously you want to be. I know what it feels like to distance yourself from your family." Her expression was as firm as her voice. "I got nothing out of it but pain and isolation. I befriended the wrong kids because I couldn't bear the loneliness."

Buffy's lips trembled. "I don't… you don't know…"

Loud footsteps approached their door, so Buffy turned her attention from the argument to clutching her tray tighter. A hand appeared through the slot, searching for the tray that Buffy used to smack that hand with all her might.

"Holy shit!" the guard yelled, and Buffy braced herself, waiting for the door to be opened, irritated by Reem's lack of reaction.

"Think I'm gonna be fooled by this again? No, missy, your punishment will be sleeping without dinner. Hunger can do more damage than beating."

The sound of his feet retreating dug holes into her heart with every step. She trembled with frustration, trying to stop herself from banging on the door and demanding to be let out.

"Told you, only way out is waiting for someone to get us out."

Her fists met the door, this time leaving small cuts on her knuckles. "Would you shut the hell up?" She spun around and felt all the air rush from her lungs. "I'm not gonna…"

"Wake up, Buffy! You're not the hero this time. You're just a normal, petite girl who's too arrogant to realize that she's nothing but a damsel in distress."

Her body shook with rage, and her voice wavered. "Why are you talking like that?"

"I'm just being real."

"I'm being real, too. For the last nine years I've gotten myself out of situations that would’ve turned your bleached hair white just listening to them."

"But did you do it without your powers?" Reem asked in a challenging tone.

"I did once."

"Then do it now." With that said, Reem lay on her back, her legs cycling in the air.

"I will." She looked around, seeing nothing but plain walls in an empty cell that gave her no inspiration. Not even the breakable plastic spoons and forks helped her dead brain to regain life again. She eyed Reem with hate and anger, afraid to admit that for the first time in her life, she was out of ideas.


~*~*~*~



The invisible vines seemed to melt under her burning eyes; her fists closed so tightly they could pass for an effective weapon. The threat of the pistol's muzzle that casually poked her back on her way to the bathrooms was waning. All of a sudden, she glided to the floor and swung a leg at the guard's feet, throwing him off balance. Before she could take hold of his weapon, a large, booted foot tramped cruelly on her hand. She hissed, uselessly trying to free her hand as another foot knocked her head to the floor and held it captive under the dirty sole.

Tears of humiliation and frustration gathered in her eyes and started to betray her one after the other. She didn't hold them back, too exhausted to care. She lay there like a ruined rug, not protesting when one of them flung her over his shoulder and then dumped her in her cell.

"Disallowed two bathroom visits," he barked, the door slam echoing his words.

Her eyes darted to Reem, who stared at her with naked pity that made her look away with disgust.

Her pride and resolve were lying outside the cell in the hall where the dirty boot had connected with her cheek. She picked up what was left, along with her drained body, and dropped on the bed, eyes shut firmly, and her fingers holding on-to her pillow.

There it was. Her favorite place. Nothing else mattered right now.



~*~*~*~



The buildings swayed, at times going so low they touched the streets, but still made sure not to pop the bubbles. Her bubble floated carelessly, confident it would never burst, not even with the suicidal way it circled the moving skyscrapers. But that wasn't the bubble; it was her. Once her feet landed on the street, the bubble floated alone aimlessly, light and fragile, its life nothing but a few seconds.

A short life was better and nicer than centuries of life mingling with dirty, polluted air. It touched her forehead, planting a kiss, and disappeared in a fast, painless death.

"Hey, Buffy, you should eat something."

The bubbles exploded, and buildings straightened.

A finger poked her shoulder, and Buffy opened her eyes reluctantly, hands not letting go of the pillow. The ugly, cool air prickled her bare legs and sent shivers up her spine, making her acknowledge, without opening her eyes, that her blanket was outspread on the floor. The sight of those gray walls frightened her, as did the cold; she wanted to get back to the warmth and beauty inside her dreams. The hand that shook her shoulder wouldn't allow her that.

"You've been sleeping for a whole day. Aren't you hungry?"

Her response was to close her eyes, wishing to return to the buildings and bubbles.

Reem sighed. "I know it must've hit you hard… realizing that you can't save yourself." Buffy's hands would have ripped the pillow if she were still a Slayer. "I've been there. My previous roommate was full of ideas. We tried to escape so many times, but they'd always catch us. Eventually, they put us in isolation as punishment." She chuckled softly. "You wouldn't believe how happy I was when they brought someone here. Even you."

Buffy fought a smile from forming.

"What kept me sane were my prayers. I had been a lazy prayer in the past, forgetting to pray on time and skipping the Dawn prayer, but since I was captured, I became closer to Allah than ever. He'll send someone to rescue me. I'm sure of that." She touched Buffy's shoulder. "You may not believe in a god, but believe in your family back home. They'll try their best to save you."

Buffy opened her eyes and locked them with the big brown ones. "I know they'll try," she whispered. "They always do."

Reem grinned. "And they'll succeed. Insha’Allah." She walked to the door. "I'll bring the food."

Buffy lay on her back, her arm on her forehead, and stared at the ceiling. There was no doubt everyone was working their asses off trying to save her, but her heart squeezed with worry. If the government's goal was to de-power the Slayers, then they'd try their best to break the protection barrier around the castle to capture the rest of the Slayers. They knew their hiding place now, and with Amy working for them, there was no doubt she'd find a way around the protection spell. Her magic was stronger than Buffy's Slayers'. Everything appeared grim, and hope was still miles away from her heart.

"Hey, they changed the menu to bread and butter!"

Buffy pushed herself up on her elbows and stared at Reem's face, shining with happiness. A glint of optimism sparkled inside. Just a glint.