Author's Note: As always, much thanks to my wonderful beta, DreamsofSpike.
****************************************************************


When Buffy woke up, it was still dark. All around her, desert stretched on for miles, as far as the eye could see. As she slowly came to, she realized that she was laid out on the back of a wagon – a very uncomfortable wagon that jostled and bumped every few seconds. On three sides, there was nothing but desert and moonlight.

On the remaining side – her left side – was Spike.

He was awake, and she knew without looking that he had noticed her waking up. When she looked at him, his deep blue eyes were already focused on her. He was tied up just the same way she was, wrists shackled behind his back, and ankles tied to the wagon itself with rope.

“My head hurts,” Buffy complained to him.

“Can imagine, pet,” he grinned. “That was some hit you took. Didn’t think they would be prepared if you decided not to come along quietly?”

“I’m not going to ‘come along’ at all,” Buffy retorted.

Sighing, the Slayer took in her surroundings, trying to formulate some kind of a plan. The rope would be easy enough to break. She also thought that she was flexible enough to loop her hands, shackles and all, under her feet and back around to the front of her body.

“Goin’ to attempt a daring escape, are we?” Spike observed, noting her thoughtful gaze, and the directions in which she cast it.

“Shhhh!” Buffy snapped in a loud whisper, casting a hasty glance at the driver, one of the four-armed demons. “Want to blow it already?”

The Vampire shrugged. “Vailask demons, Slayer. They don’t exactly have the best of hearing. It’s that little runt and those hell-hound lookin’ things you need to watch out for, but the midget’s in the cart ahead, and the hounds are pullin’ the wagons. Still, even so, we’re a good bit outnumbered.”

“So, what do you suggest?” Buffy demanded. “That we just stay here and let them take us wherever they feel like taking us?”

“Bugger that,” Spike agreed. “This is bloody well going to be our only chance to escape. I’m just lettin’ you know what the odds are.”

Buffy narrowed her eyes. “You actually knew what they were talking about back there…and that means that you know more than you’re saying about what’s happening now. Do you know this Haven Master, Spike?”

He shook his head. “No, never met the bloke. Angelus has, though. I’ve just been to the Haven once or twice, with Dru. She and Angelus loved those sorts of places.”

She looked at him blankly, though an uneasy feeling was beginning to build in the pit of her stomach. “What sorts of places?”

He sighed, trying to summon enough patience to deal with the impossibly clueless Slayer. “Brothels, Slayer. In the demon world, “haven” is like a code name for whore house.”

Her green eyes grew wide with disbelief, her mouth dropping open in shock. If they had been in slightly different circumstances, Spike might have found it adorable.

“Then…why would they want…?”

“We’re being sold as slaves, Slayer.”

The stricken look on her face almost made Spike feel guilty for stating the obvious so bluntly.

“Ok,” she breathed after taking a moment to recover from the alarming news. “That’s definitely of the ‘not happening’.”

“Well then,” he shrugged, “by all means, Slayer, if you’ve got any ideas…”

Buffy sighed, trying to think through their position as clearly as she could. “Ok, say they do get us into this Haven place…what do you think the chances are that the others can find us – do some kind of a location spell, or something?”

The Vampire snorted. “They can do whatever soddin’ spell they like, it’s not going to work. The Haven’s got a slew of sorcerers of their own, and enough magic in place to be sure that an individual slave can’t be located inside its walls. The Haven itself can be located, but how would your chums know to look for you there? Not to mention, it’s constantly moving. The place is famous, and its fame sure as bloody hell didn’t rise in Southern California.”

“So, in other words…we’re completely on our own.”

He nodded in agreement. “Completely.”

They sighed in unison, thoroughly frustrated.

Buffy spared another glance at their driver, then back at Spike again. “You said they can’t hear well, right?”

He nodded.

“Well, ok…it’s easy, then. We just break the rope, and make a run for it.” Despite their captors’ hearing impairment, the Slayer still whispered her plan. “We’ll sneak off the wagon, not make too much noise…find a place where we can hide, or at least fight better…and we’re home free.” She shrugged.

Spike raised an eyebrow at her speculatively. “I don’t think it’s going to be that simple, luv.”

Shrugging carelessly, deliberately ignoring Spike’s warning, the Slayer used her chained hands to get a good grip on the rope that tied her ankles to a metal ring on the wagon floor. She tugged hard, groaning and gritting her teeth, before the coarse rope finally snapped. She held her breath for a long, terrifying moment, looking up at the driver…and then breathing a sigh of relief when he did not turn around.

“Got a bad feeling about this, Slayer…”

“Yeah, well, you can let your bad feeling keep you here so you can be a slave in a demon whore house. *I* am getting out of here. You can take care of your own rope – if you’re coming at all.”

Without another word, she brought her knees up to her chin, rolling onto her side in a little ball, small enough to work her feet, then her legs between her back and her wrists, slipping them through the chains, so that her hands were brought around to the front of her body, where she could actually use them a little.

“Huh…flexible.” Spike noted.

“Well, duh. Now come on.” Trying to make sure her chains didn’t scrape against the wood floor of the wagon, Buffy scooted to the back edge on her knees. She then swung around, dropping down to the dirt ground silently, going into a crouch as she watched the wagon continue on its way down the trail.

Without waiting for the vampire still chained on the wagon, she turned and ran back the way they had come from.

The wagon lurched. Spike’s gaze shot to the front, but he was unable to see very well what was going on.

*********************************************************************

One of the hell hounds had heard the sound of Buffy’s soft, retreating footsteps. It turned its muzzled head sharply, baring rows of fangs in a loud snarl. The beast beside it tried to continue is journey, but gave up when it realized that its companion was not going to join it.

The four-armed driver yanked at the reins as it finally followed the beast’s gaze, to see the blonde slayer running across the desert. Sighing, it dropped down from its perch, looking bored as he released the hound that had heard the Slayer run. Free from its reins, it immediately took off in pursuit of the fleeing slave.

***********************************************************************

Spike saw the blur of wicked scales and spines on four legs, heading straight for the Slayer. “Bollocks!”

Grabbing the rope binding his own ankles, he gave a quick yank. He didn’t bother looking for the four-armed guards before leaping from the wagon and taking off after them both. His gait was awkward, with his wrists still bound behind his back. Taking in a deep breath, he shouted after Buffy, “Slayer, behind you!”

Freezing in surprise and supreme irritation, Buffy whirled around to tell Spike off for shouting, and possibly drawing the attention of their captors to their ‘escape’. Her eyes widened as she saw the hellish beast barreling toward her.

“Oh…that’s -- *shit*!” She immediately turned back around, running as fast as her legs could carry her, her eyes desperately scanning her surrounding for something that she could use as a weapon, or some place that she could squeeze into and hide, where the beast could not follow.

But it was gaining on her fast, each pace of its powerful legs matching at least three of her running strides.

Spike employed all of his vampire speed in running after them, and though it was a struggle, bound as he was – he was actually gaining on them.

The monster was only feet behind her now – and Buffy was beginning to realize that she could not run much farther. She had no choice but to turn and fight, or she’d be food for the giant Fido. She twisted suddenly, ducking down onto the ground, so that the creature barreled right over her. As it did, she kicked up hard into its gut, sending it flying over her head and landing on its side. It recovered quickly, rolling back onto its feet, then crouched and snarled at her from a few feet away.

Buffy climbed hastily back to her feet, then took as good a swing as she could at the thing with her bound hands. Her doubled fist hit the beast’s face, the skin of her knuckles scraped badly by its hard scales.

Its head jerked to the side, but it seemed barely disturbed by the blow, turning on her again to expose its fangs, as if in challenge.

Buffy glanced down at her scraped knuckles. “Owww…”

She struck out with a foot this time, turning and kicking hard, straight for its face. The creature opened its jaws and caught her boot in its mouth, then clamped down hard and jerked its head sharply, dragging her to the ground before crawling over on top of her. Buffy’s eyes widened in fear as she tried to keep its jaws away from her throat. It snapped hard, nearly taking one of her fingers off. She held its jaws away from her face with all her remaining strength, but still it forced itself forward, getting closer and closer…

But Spike had finally caught up with them.

He skidded to a stop just feet from the beast and the Slayer underneath. He tried to think of something he could do that could help, but his hands were useless while chained behind his back. The thing’s fangs were inches from the Slayer’s neck – it was about to take a fatal bite out of her…

Sighing and rolling his eyes, Spike took a split second to reflect on just what lengths he’d go to for…*shiver*…his love for the Slayer. His face shifted, fangs descending and eye ridges emerging, as he suddenly gave his shoulder a hard jerk, popping it right out of place, then raising his arms above his head, and bringing his chained hands down in front of him.

He lunged at the creature with a roar, landing partially on its back and using the chains binding him to wrap around its neck and pull it hard away from the Slayer.

To his surprise, the creature didn’t struggle to return to the Slayer’s throat. It turned and ran in the other direction, leaving Spike to fall half way onto its body… *Ouch! Bloody spines!*…with his legs being dragged through the dirt and rocks. The hound twisted and turned, nearly sending the vampire on its back flying several times. Finally, it bucked one last time, then tumbled onto its side, landing hard on the vampire.

Buffy struggled to her knees on the ground, breathing heavily as she tried to recover from her fright. She stared in bewilderment at the vampire who had come to her rescue, barely able to believe that he had done it.

And -- *why*?

Unfortunately, she was so busy staring, that she hadn’t noticed the bruise-purple demons that had surrounded them again, until it was too late. She looked up sharply, trying to get to her feet to defend herself – but before she could, the staff in one’s hand came out of nowhere, slamming straight into Buffy’s face and sending her plunging into darkness.