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Chapter Three

Exhaustion was beginning to set in. Buffy didn’t know how long she had been walking, but it felt like forever. When she had left the room with the two guards, she had been relieved – happy, even – to be on her way.

The meadow she had stepped out into had been pleasant, the sun at just the right warmth and a nice breeze in the air. She’d been able to see quite far into the distance, and it appeared to be more of the same: picturesque fields and blue skies with little groves of trees, their leaves creating a dappled shade on the ground.

There had been a stony path, and Buffy had decided that was probably the way to go. Now, who-knew-how-many hours later, the picture-book landscape had turned foul. The sun was beating down relentlessly, and Buffy had come across neither food nor water.

The gamemasters had said that they would have to forage for food, but if there was nothing to forage, what good was that? She was sweaty, tired, hungry and getting desperate for a drink, but all she could see for miles ahead was the path winding endlessly into the horizon.

Buffy had taken to obsessively checking the dial. Her hand was now lined up with Spike’s, both of them hovering between the five-past and ten-past positions.

She found herself wondering what he was doing, whether he had had to solve a stupid riddle and was now trekking across the alternate dimension, or if his tasks were something different.

Buffy hoped that whatever he was up to, he was having as much fun as she was. Of course, fun in the sense that it’s not.

Boredom – that was another thing. God, was she ever fed up of only having herself for company! Buffy felt so starved for someone to talk to, that she would even have put up with Spike and his sarcastic comments.

She laughed out loud at her thoughts, and once she started, she found she couldn’t stop. This place was going to drive her insane, she knew it.

***

It was dark outside when Spike stepped through the gap in the wall. A clear, crisp night where every star was visible in the sky – not that any of them in this alternate dimension were familiar to him.

Spike was feeling pretty chuffed with himself. He’d defeated his opponent easily, filled himself up with the wanker’s blood – and the human part of the shapeshifter had made it the sweetest meal he’d had in months – and so far, it seemed like all he had to do next was take a stroll through the countryside.

He felt invigorated, and even seeing that the Slayer’s blue hand had caught him up was not enough to dampen his spirits. Spike walked along casually for a few miles, but his veins were racing with the borrowed blood and he decided to sprint for the next few. With a loping run, he ate up the miles, though what he was headed towards, he didn’t know.

After some time, he slowed down to a walk, noting the lightening of the sky in the east, and the innate vampire sense that told him dawn was near. He grinned, not tired in the least, and knowing that he could withstand the sun in this dimension, continued walking.

He knew something was wrong when he felt his skin begin to tingle, and then he stared in horror as his hands began to blister and burn. Spike glanced up at the sky, and saw that the sun was rising, hanging low and heavy and red on the horizon.

Smoke started to rise from his flesh, and he yelled in pain, looking around frantically for shelter. He slid his hands up into the sleeves of his duster, and then pulled it up over his head, trying to protect his face from the sun.

What the bleeding hell was going on? Yesterday, the sun hadn’t harmed him at all. He had been able to bask in it, enjoy it even.

“Not fair of you to change the bloody rules!” he shouted to the sky, as he ran for a grove of trees in the distance.

The trees were small, insubstantial saplings, and provided very little shade. One gust of wind – and well, he’d be dust in the breeze. He could see nothing in the immediate area that he could use to shelter for the day, just more groups of trees.

Spike crouched down against the trunk of the tree with the biggest canopy of leaves, and shrugged off his coat. He curled up as small as he possibly could, and then draped the coat around himself. He’d never been more thankful for the duster as he had in that moment.

The chain with the dial at the end had pooled in his lap, its bright face staring up at him. His indicator was still level with the Slayer’s, but he knew that she could very well overtake him whilst he was incapacitated. Spike turned the dial over, not wanting to look at it any more, and laid his head on his knees.

He’d just have to wait the day out. Be patient. He snorted.

Never been any good at that.

***

He’d slept, must have, because he jolted towards consciousness so suddenly it made him jump. Spike raised his head cautiously, peering out from between a crack in the leather. It was dark.

Spike stood up, shaking out his coat and stretching his stiff muscles. Hadn’t been a particularly comfy resting place, but he’d slept in worse. The unfamiliar pattern of stars smattered the sky, and tonight, there was a bright moon.

As he stood, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, a tightening across the skin that lay above his unbeating heart. He took a couple of deep breaths, confused by the prickling in his lungs.

Spike shook his head, refusing to dwell on it, instead hurrying back towards the path that hopefully led to the finish line and his freedom from the chip. Spike wondered how much mileage he had lost to the Slayer whilst napping the day away, but when he checked, he was surprised to see that her hand on the dial had not advanced any further than his.

“Well, well. Looks like the Slayer’s been having some troubles of her own.”

Slightly appeased, he set off. He hadn’t been walking for more than an hour, all the while ignoring the oddly-human aches and pains in his chest, when he felt his vampire sense tingling, signalling the sunrise.

“What the…”

He couldn’t have slept the clock around, could he? No, surely not.

He was about to make another mad dash towards the trees, when he realised that the sun had fully risen, and he wasn’t on fire.

“Fucking idiots!” he growled. “Messin’ with me like that!”

He had a feeling that things weren’t going to be as simple as he’d first thought.

***

Buffy knew she had to be hallucinating when she saw the settlement up ahead. It wouldn’t surprise her, she felt lightheaded and dizzy with the lack of food and water. But the image of the small town was an enticing one, and she sped up her pace, just a little.

The buildings were candy-coloured and the town was chocolate-box quaint. When she stepped onto the main street, she felt something strange pass through her, a shudder that began at her toes and worked its way up to her head. She shook it off, desperate to find something to drink.

The door to the nearest house was open, and Buffy hurried towards it, going in and quickly finding the kitchen. She fell upon the sink and gulped down several mouthfuls of water, relishing the icy coldness.

When her thirst was quenched, she opened the refrigerator, finding ham and lettuce and a tomato. There was bread on the counter, and Buffy quickly put together a sandwich, which she wolfed down in no time at all.

Fed and watered, the tiredness she had been keeping at bay crept over her once more, and she went into the living room, lay down on the couch, and fell asleep.

Buffy was awoken some time later by the sound of a key jiggling in the lock of the front door. She sat up, and stretched, and then felt that same strange charge pulse through her body. She looked towards the door, and smiled when she saw Spike walk through, arms loaded with groceries.

“Hey pet. I’m home.”

***