Of Slayers, Wolves, and Soldiers
by JaHo
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns the characters of Buffy and Faith, the other characters in this are strictly my own creation although the plot line LOOSELY relates to a movie called 'Dog Soldiers'. If anyone hasn't seen it, it's a darned interesting watch for werewolf fans.
48 hours ago-
One by one, the paramilitary team each hit the soft forest floor. Instictively, as in training, they released their parachutes and collapsed to their knees rolling with the impact of landing from their 7500 foot (low parachute opening) jump.
Coming silently to a crouched position, each readied themselves by quickly extracting weaponry and arming themselves while scanning the night forest for hostile presence. The highly trained team of five looked back and forth at each other, communicating with hand signals that gave the 'all clear' before placing their earphones and throat mikes in place.
"Leader, this is Two. All clear?" one soldier whispered. The circular disc attached to his throat picked up his slight vocal chord vibrations and transmitted the sound clearly to the rest of the group.
"Affirmative Two," the team leader, Major William Cooper, whispered. "Stealth to primary investigation zone, on my lead."
Cooper began his silent ascent up a slight hillside, crouched and ready, as the remaining members of his team followed in two by two formation. Cooper had been career military for almost twelve years before being selected for Omega Com. His years of combat experience, expertise in strategic operations and field reconnaissance were all scrutinized with a fine tooth comb, and it was his honor to be selected leader of the Special Ops group and pick his own team.
In turn, he selected one man from each of the four branches' Special Forces. From the Army's Green Berets he selected Jason Storm as his number-two man. From the Navy SEALs, Petty Officer Wesley Stewart as the team's communications operative and Medic. From Marines' Force Recon, John Ackman as the heavy weapons and explosives expert. Finally, from the Air Force's Red Beret division came Lee McGovern who became the team's navigation and terrain intelligence expert.
He had picked the very best, and he trusted each and every man with his last dollar, his own life, and the life of his own family. He was more than happy with his team, and proud to have been their commander for the last 3 years.
They moved roughly a kilometer and a half into the dense forest terrain; their expert treads not making a single noise. According to McGovern they were now just on the outskirts of Primary Interest Zone- Charlie, and Cooper made the signal to make camp. They would begin their primary sweep in the morning. For now, they needed their rest.
Before trudging into a potential hell.
Today-
Buffy and Faith had spent about three hours backpacking uphill through some of the prettiest terrain they had ever seen. They both originally hailed from opposite sides of the country, but neither Los Angeles nor Boston afforded much chance for wildlife or forest scenery. Therefore, when they chose a spot for a getaway together, they mutually decided on somewhere in the middle of the country and far from their respective homes. Then something that they had never done before; backpacking through the mountains.
This was not only their first vacation since the Hellmouth closed (or ever for that matter), but it was also their first chance to get away as a couple since they had begun seeing each other less than four months ago.
The group's reaction to their finally coming together was mixed. Some were surprised (none more than Xander), and others weren't surprised at all. A person would have had to be a fool not to see the intense sexual undertones that were both thrown and denied between the two oldest Slayers, both when Faith first arrived in Sunnydale and upon her return after prison. Both expressed the innate ability to both piss each other off and turn each other on, at the same time.
Finally, one night after a particularly intense battle, Buffy had acted upon her redheaded best friend's advice of "Just shut up and kiss her already…" and done it. It didn't surprise her in the slightest when Faith happily reciprocated as if she was the happiest kid in the candy store.
Their first night together had been electric on two separate ends of the spectrum. All of her life, Buffy had always been heavily into the emotional aspect of every relationship that she had been in. Conversely, Faith had always been Miss Get Some Get Gone, completely ignoring whatever feelings were supposed to be attached to her sexuality. On that night their entire worlds changed. For hours Buffy had the most intense sexual experience of her life, as Faith's expert ministrations brought her to release again and again. Each climax only making her want more. More touches, more kisses, and more flesh-to-flesh contact with the person that she now held in her arms.
For Faith.. well it had been the culmination of years of wanting and never believing that she could have. In her arms was the only person that she had ever felt a true emotional connection with, something that she had never experienced in connection with a sexual experience. In one of the most beautiful moments that Buffy had ever known, the tough brunette broke down and cried in her arms when it was all over telling her that she had always been in love with her and that no matter what Buffy's decision was in the morning, she always would be.
They talked for hours, and when they showed up at the group meeting the next morning holding hands, pretty much everyone knew.
They stopped just before the crossing of a small stream and Buffy surveyed the view over the trees far up into the mountains.
"Isn't this a great view, Faithy?"
Faith had stopped a short distance behind Buffy, cocking her head to one side and staring specifically at the small blonde's backside and ignoring the scenery. "I'll say.. " she said, grinning heartily.
The older girl looked back and then giggled. "Not that, you goof! The mountain. Isn't it awesome?"
"Uh.. um.. yeah that too." The dark Slayer said, moving up directly behind Buffy and slipping her arms around the petite girl's waist. "But nowhere near as awesome as you."
"Oh baby.. " Buffy said, slipping her own arms over the brunette's and turning her head to one side in order to capture the lips of the taller girl whose head was resting on her shoulder. "Do you want to camp here or go on a bit further?" Buffy asked.
Faith considered a moment, looking up at the mountain then back at how nice the little spot beside the stream was. If she were honest, she would have admitted that the thought of playing with the blonde in the stream under the moonlight made her decision for her. "We got all week, babe. We can stop here for now."
The food that they had brought was nowhere close to what they were used to, but they both got a kick out of trying to prepare it on the small gas grill that had been brought along. Neither was what anyone would consider the outdoors-y type, so they just had to wing it. However, they had managed.
"Y'know, I never thought that Spam-burgers could be so tasty." Buffy said, taking another hearty bite.
"Anything's tasty if you're hungry enough, B." Faith said through a mouthful of her own burger. Swallowing and licking her lips clean she leaned forward kissing her girlfriend on the cheek "Wanna know what I'm hungry for now?"
The blonde blushed, not yet having grown used to Faith's overt sexuality but loving it just the same. "Faith.. " she said smiling shyly.
"Whatsa matter baby?" the brunette said, moving to her knees in front of her lover. "No need to be shy way out here. What are you afraid of, that the owls might get a show?"
She moved forward, capturing Buffy's lips with her own, moving her hands down her lover's arms and directing her to put down her food and use her hands to encircle her own waist instead.
"Love me?" Faith asked.
"For some strange reason, hell yes."
"In the tent then, sexy.."
24 hours ago-
"Two report!" Cooper half whispered/half yelled into his throat mike.
"It's a mess here Major!" Cooper could hear gunfire in his earpiece between his number two agent's words. "Intel fucked us bad! We need to pull out!"
"Affirmative Storm! Pull out, pull out! I'm calling for extraction." His team had walked into an ambush of the worst kind, and now some of his best friends were getting slaughtered. He switched the channels on his transmitter and tried to signal their air support.
"Alpha 2, this is Gold Lead. Request immediate extraction at coordinates 5..4..7..9.. do you confirm?" There was nothing but silence in his earpiece. "Alpha 2, do you read?"
"Goddammit!" he exclaimed throwing down his earpiece and drawing his weapon, now focused only on his own terrain. He listened intently, every sense alive and searching. Nothing. Unnatural.
Even in the most silent of woodland environments, there was the chirp of crickets or the occasional hoot of a nocturnal bird. Now there was nothing. He spun slowly holding his weapon at the ready.
There was a snapping of a twig and rustle of bushes and he opened fire, sending a volley of at least 15 projectiles in that direction and he swore that he heard an animalistic grunt of pain.
Cooper advanced, quickly yet silently, to check his fallen adversary in order to confirm a kill. He found nothing. Even in the poorly illuminating moonlight, he could see the slick blood coating the woodland floor. But no body. No fallen enemy.
His heart beat hard against his ribcage and his blood pumped furiously in his system. Turning slowly, his head woozy with adrenaline, he raised his weapon once again.
He heard the growl, just a split second before he saw the claws descending toward his chest.
Today-
The campfire safely put out and the supplies stashed away, the two Slayers slowly entered their tent. Letting them both in, Faith slowly lowered the flap's zipper and secured it at the bottom. Reaching over, she flipped on and then quickly dimmed the small battery powered light that was adjacent to their portable stereo.
"What's that for?" the blonde queried.
"Sweetie, you know I like lookin' at you way too much to ever make love to you in the dark." She moved immediately into Buffy's arms, who encircled her tightly and pressed their lips together. Gentle sweet kisses enraptured the brunette who reciprocated fully, taking things slowly at first just the way her girl liked it. Slowly she built her own intensity while molding her body to her lover's. Over just a few months she had gotten to know Buffy's bodily responses so well that she could literally feel the blonde's growing passion building in her own body. It poured over her like steam from a pot that threatened to boil over.
Buffy dipped her head slowly down, kissing over the dark Slayer's chin and down to her pulse point where she alternated between gentle nibbles, kisses and licks while Faith gently cradled her head, moaning with each small bite.
One thing that Buffy had loved from the start about Faith's lovemaking was the pure animalistic urge that she pursued it with. Each moan was more of a grunt, each caress left a gentle scratch as she trailed her nails over her lover's body. It was almost as if she were marking the oldest Slayer as her own.
The blonde felt herself quickly pushed back against their bunched sleeping bags, the buttons on her shirt being quickly popped one by one as Faith cradled her head with her other arm and planted long but soft kisses on her forehead. It was more amazing to Faith than to anyone else how much she adored her little prize and how much she loved worshipping her this way. Never before had it been this way with anyone.
The buttons undone, the shirt magically disappeared revealing Buffy's uncharacteristically braless form. Her small pink nipples stood out hard against the night air and under Faith's caresses, as the brunette gently cupped each breast in turn and flicked the sensitive tip ever so lightly with her tongue. She circled and suckled at each breast as both hands worked furiously at Buffy's jeans zipper.
Faith slid both denim and lace from her petite body in one swift motion, revealing the prize that was Buffy's body totally uncovered for her. She moved back into the blonde's arms.
"You're all mine baby." She moaned huskily as her hands trailed down Buffy's sides, cupping each buttock as the blonde wrapped her legs around the larger girl's waist.
"All yours baby." Buffy moaned in return, feeling the slight contact between Faith's jean clad thigh and her now aching sex. She bucked her hips lightly to obtain a slight friction, arching her back to increase the pressure that was put on her center and moaning even louder.
"Not so fast girly." Faith said, grinning as she pulled back slightly and reached downward to feel the slight dampness on the leg of her jeans. "I know what you need, and you know I'll give. Right?"
Buffy nodded furiously, now grinning mischievously as she felt the brunette's expert fingers rest lightly against her nether lips, rubbing back and forth through the slick wetness and putting just enough pressure against her opening to tease her to a frenzy.
"P.. please Faithy.. " she gasped, her breath coming now in ragged bursts as she caressed Faith's head which was buried in her neck.
"Please what baby?" the brunette moaned close enough for Buffy to feel her breath against her ear.
Having been worked to the exact point where Faith liked her to be, Buffy's voice came almost as a growl. "Fffuck me.. "
"Mmm yeah." The younger girl moaned as she slipped her middle and ring fingers inside of her lover in a swift but gentle motion, capturing her lips at the same time.
What would have otherwise been a short scream of pleasure from the small blonde, ended up as a loud moan into her lover's mouth as their tongues danced together. Faith immediately quickened her pace, slipping her fingers in and out as she heard the faint click of Buffy's wetness against her hand.
In the intense throws of her pleasure, Buffy pulled her face away and held her lover closely as she was brought over the edge with a scream of, "Oh fuck..! Faaith! Mmmmnnnf.. "
Faith gradually slowed the pace of her fingers inside of her lover and withdrew, letting Buffy catch her breath. As the blonde's breathing returned to normal she heard the familiar voice in her ears.
"Love me baby?"
"Always." She gasped. "Always.. "
They awoke slowly, the morning sun streaming in through the top flap of their tent. The brunette languidly raised her left arm to cover her eyes from the offensive light. She glanced down to see why her right arm hadn't moved when she originally willed it to, only to see a blonde head contentedly resting on her shoulder. The older girl's arm and leg were draped protectively over her.
Faith reached down, gently stroking the hair from her lover's face and gently kissed her forehead. "Wakey, wakey little stranger.."
"Mmmph.. " the blonde answered, swatting her hand away so that she could continue sleeping in her very comfortable position.
Faith grinned. She always woke up before Buffy; it never failed. And she got a hell of a kick out of waking her. Her little prize was just so cute.
"C'mon B, I gotta pee. Lemme up ok?"
"Mmmkay." Buffy mumbled sleepily "Kisses first."
The dark Slayer smiled again and leaned down to plant a small kiss across her girlfriend's lips, then began extracting herself from the tangle of arms and legs as Buffy simply drifted off again.
Once outside, Faith's Slayer senses kicked in as always. It was as involuntary as breathing for both her and her fellow Slayers. She warily found her way to a patch of trees and did her business, still unsure of what exactly was wrong. Then when she stood up and adjusted her jeans she tuned in even more.
The first thing she heard. Nothing. The first thing she smelled. Blood.
She rushed back to the tent, throwing open the flap. "B.. B, wake up baby. I think we might have trouble."
Unlike before, Buffy was instantly awake now. Grabbing and pulling on her jean shorts, she grabbed a stake from her pack and jumped up, exiting the tent.
"What is it?" She asked, weapon at the ready. Faith was still looking around, trying to pinpoint exactly what she felt was wrong. Buffy felt it too. She smelled the blood. It was old; at least 18 hours or so. But she still smelled it.
The two nodded wordlessly then made their way further into the dense woods, investigating the feeling that they had. Finally, they came upon a trail of blood. Following it to its end, they came upon what they had been searching for.
"Oh God Faith." Buffy turned and buried her head in her girlfriend's shoulder, the brunette cradling her head.
"It's ok B.. it's ok. It's just a deer. Everything's alright. No demons."
"Yeah but still. God let's get out of here, ok?"
"Yeah babe.. yeah. Probably a mountain lion or something got it. Cycle of nature, y'know?" She walked her girl back to where their tent was and wordlessly packed up camp. She could tell the blonde was much more shaken than she was, though there was still a nagging sensation at the back of Faith's head that told her that there was more to this than a simple animal kill. But, she suppressed it and tried to focus her mind on enjoying the rest of their vacation.
They hiked for the rest of the day, breaking occasionally for a snack or breather.
It seemed that they both had gotten over the traumatic experience of that morning and were once again focused on each other. What would, at one time, been cause for fights and bickering was now the basis for tickling, teasing and laughter. It felt good to finally let everything out. No more fights; no more denial. Only the two of them.
They trudged through about 100 yards of mud, thankful for the boots that they had purchased at the mountain base's supply store.
When the sun began to set, Buffy suggested camp again and Faith readily agreed. There was not only a stream nearby tonight but a full-blown river. Which would give Faith a chance to try out her fishing pole. The thought of spit-roasted fish made her mouth water. Plus the chance to go for a swim was equally inviting.
"C'mon B, stay in here with me!" Faith called as Buffy giggled and wiggled her way out of the brunette's grasp, trudging toward the shore and her dry clothes.
"Faith, we're already clean! We'll get dirty again later, I promise." The blonde called as the sultry brunette watched her dry herself and slowly dress.
"I'm gonna hold you to that.. " she muttered.
Proving herself ever the woods-girl, Buffy had caught two fish. Faith languidly snacked on the roasted meat of one while watching her girl struggle with the other, trying to get it off of the roasting spit.
"Want some help with that girlfriend?"
"No.. Nope I got it." The blonde answered, fidgeting with the fish until it finally fell into her plate. "Ahh. There we go." She countered happily.
They both ate in relative silence, minus a stray flirt here or there and finally decided to turn in.
They watched the full moon rise over the trees, leaning against each other and slowly sipping the bottled water that they had packed for themselves. It was a truly beautiful sight. It was one of those nights that the full moon was not white but sky blue.
"You wanna turn in, or go for a walk?" Faith asked, not caring what the answer was as long as she was with Buffy.
"Hmm.." The blonde considered. "Let's go for a short walk, ok? I like the woods."
"Ok babe." The brunette stood up, Buffy's hand in her own, leading her down a small trodden path into the forest. Not going far enough where they would get lost, only a small way so that it seemed to them, that they were in the middle of nowhere together.
Without warning, the small blonde reached out and pulled the brunette to her. "Hmm..?" Faith let out, surprised at the sudden impulse but still melted into Buffy's embrace.
"I never do this.. But I think I owe it to you." Buffy kissed her once. "You always say that I'm yours." Another kiss. "Well you're mine too. I love you so much Faithy."
Faith grinned. "You're gonna give me a swelled head or something, B.."
"Well you deserve it.." her hands moved down to rest lightly on Faith's hips. "Because you make me feel like a woman."
"Right back at ya babe.." The brunette moved forward and gave Buffy another short kiss. "Only giving credit where it's due."
"Rrghhh.." came the moan from deep in the shrubbery, where the two Slayers had failed to tread.
They both spun quickly away from each other, into fighting stance toward the source of the sound. The Slayers advanced quickly, moving the brush to one side or the other, in order to get to the source of the sound.
In the sparse light of the lingering twilight, they found a makeshift campsite. A burned out fire and a circle of indented grass and shrubbery. Other than that was nothing but blood. Blood everywhere. At least a day old and dried. That's why they hadn't smelled it immediately. Bits of blood covered fabric lay everywhere, along with communications equipment and weaponry which the Slayers found no use for.
"Rrghhh.. help." They heard from deeper in the brush and they both rushed to the voice. Moving branches to each side, they revealed the injured body of one soldier. He was dressed all in black with no identifying insignia. "Help me.." he gasped.
"My God.." Buffy said, helping Faith drag him from his area of cover into the remaining light of day.
"Who are you?" Faith asked. "Can you hear me? What's your name?"
"S..Storm" he stammered. His voice was incredibly panicked. "Lt. Jason Storm. Army. You have to get me out of here! Get me out of here before they come back!"
"Who?" Buffy asked. "Who comes back?"
The soldier appeared to be delirious as well as bloody and injured. "They'll come back do you hear me?!?! There was only supposed to be one!"
Buffy tried as hard as she could to put pressure on his wounds, even though they appeared to be healing. "One what?"
"There was only supposed to be one.. " The soldier stammered, only semi coherently. "Only supposed to be one.. only one.."
Today-
"Faith, get him out of the bushes!" Buffy said, helping the soldier to his feet. Her girlfriend moved under Storm's opposite arm. They moved him just a few feet so that his back was to a large log. He was still on the ground, but at least he was sitting up.
"See if you can find a first aid kit, B!"
Buffy scrambled away, searching the makeshift campsite for any sight of anything that was useful as Faith used her jacket to place pressure on the soldier's worst and deepest wound across his left shoulder. Most of his wounds had closed by now, but this one was still seeping blood. It seemed like Storm had lost enough blood.
Finally spotting a green bag, covered with blood, but with a white circle and Red Cross clearly emblazoned upon it, she grabbed it and ran back to Faith and Storm. Opening it she rummaged around, pulling out bandages, elastic wrap and several different vials and syringes.
Faith reached down to the ground and scooped up one of the vials that caught her eye, then reading it she scooped up a syringe as well.
"Bandage his shoulder B.." she said, drawing some of the clear liquid into the syringe.
"What's that?" the blonde asked, unwrapping the sterile gauze.
"Morphine.. " She said to her girl, before turning to the soldier. "You're really gonna love this pal.." she stabbed the needle through the fabric of his uniform close to his shoulder.
The trained soldier winced as the liquid burned into his body, then subsided. Immediately his whole body relaxed. "Oh.. wow.. " he gasped.
"Told ya.." then turning back to Buffy. "Ok, let's move him."
"Ok bud.. how ya feeling?" Faith asked the soldier. He was now bandaged and propped up in the two girls' campsite.
"Better.. you two need to leave. Leave while you can.. the moon's up."
"Okay, what does that mean exactly?" Buffy asked, in the back of her mind she had a gnawing suspicion of what he meant but didn't want to admit it to herself.
"It means they'll be hunting.. Werewolves."
"Ah fuck.." Faith stood up, kicking her foot. "I fuckin' knew this was too good to be true."
"You girls should leave. I'm the only one armed. I'll keep them at bay while you run."
"It's ok, soldier boy.." Buffy said. "You have no idea who you're dealing with. Tell us exactly what is going on here."
The soldier took a few deep breaths, reclining further against the bunched sleeping bags and backpacks. "We were sent in.." he began, no longer caring about mission security. "..to capture one potential hostile. But our intelligence was faulty. There wasn't just one. God I don't know how many there were."
"So you guys are like a new version of the Initiative?" Buffy asked.
"The what?"
At that point, the blonde Slayer knew that all knowledge of the Initiative had been buried even further than she thought.
"Our team was commissioned to investigate and isolate supernatural threats.." the trained fighter said through clenched teeth. The pain in his shoulder still twinged sharply with every move, but it felt much better with the injection that Faith had given him. "This is the first time our Intel fucked up bad. Whole team is gone. We need to be gone too."
"Don't worry bud," Faith said to him. "You got Slayers on your side now. We're gonna get you outta here."
"Slayer?" the soldier queried. "I've heard of you.."
"SLAYERS!" Buffy said, emphasizing the S at the end, "and don't worry. We ARE gonna get you outta here in one piece."
The woodland began to rustle with the sounds of movement, and both girls caught the musky scent at the same time.
"We need to move, B.. Now!"
They scooped up the injured soldier under each arm and moved as fast as they could through the brush, toward the direction of the nearest mountain road. The sounds of low growls and crushed brush closed behind them.
A feral noise was close. Very close.
Faith spun out of the soldier's grip, letting his weight rest solely on Buffy's shoulder. She moved just in time to catch a lunging form in mid-air and send it sailing over her head into the nearby brush.
More sounds came from every direction as Faith scooped up the soldier once again. "Move, B.."
One creature moved from the brush just ahead of them and Buffy encountered it with a front kick to the stomach. The beast doubled over, just long enough to have a fist crash down on its skull.
"Goddammit! How many of these things are there?" Buffy stammered, watching it fall momentarily. They continued to run, supporting the injured man in between them. They were completely unarmed. No weapons of silver and no tranq weapons. All they could do was fight and try to find a way around their assailants.
Two sets of claws descended at the group of three and the two Slayers reacted instinctively by dropping the injured party to the ground and blocking the offensive claws. Faith countered by grabbing the incoming wrist and bringing her other arm up behind the elbow hard. She heard the elbow joint snap and a yelp of pain before it withdrew.
Buffy's reflexes snapped to fore, as she intercepted the incoming jaws, holding the beast around the neck and rolling backward to send it flying over her head into a tree. Its body hit the wood with a dull thud and not a sound, which convinced her that the beast was knocked out.
They stooped again, knowing that they were not far from the road and continued to run for the road. Finally they broke out of the underbrush into the open dirt road and stumbled into the path of an oncoming truck.
"Whoa!" Faith threw up one hand and signaled to the driver of the vehicle, causing the jeep to come sliding to a stop in front of the crumpled group.
An unknown form leaned out one side of the Jeep. "Get in!" a female voice called. They were not lax in following her instructions. The group pulled themselves up from the ground, their hearts beating madly, and piled into the vehicle. No sooner had they deposited their injured passenger and themselves, they felt the roof rock with impact. The entire Jeep moved from one side to another under the massive weight that had landed on top.
The sounds of impact sounded on the top of the vehicle as it began to move, over and over again. The redhead behind the wheel gripped it tightly, gunning the engine. "Hold on!" she said.
A large impact sounded on the top of the vehicle and a large hairy arm hurtled through the hole that was made in the top.
"Ahh! Shit!" Buffy screamed, slamming her drawn dagger through the forearm of the offensive limb. A howl of pain was heard and the arm disappeared as Buffy withdrew her knife and an audible rumble of a body rolling off the roof was heard.
They all had a chance to compose themselves.
"Who the hell are you?" Faith asked the driver, still giving some attention to the injured passenger.
"My name's Ilana.." the driver said. "Just shut up and hang on."
They pulled up to a small cabin, that would in no way be accused of being modern.
"C'mon.. inside!" the chunky redhead said, piling out of the truck and leading the way to the front door.
Through the door was a large bolt and embattlement against any outside assault. It was almost as if this lady was ready for what was happening.
"Get behind the door!" she said, securing it with a large wooden beam across. Inside, there was a large wooden table with several chairs around, so together they sat the soldier down between them.
"Okay.. " Buffy said flatly. "What do you know?"
"Only what I've been taught." The redhead said. "..to stay safe during the full moons. Stay down!"
The small redhead looked through the slats of her already boarded windows, noting the moving forms on the outside. The feral figures moved in and out of the light, alternating between visible and invisible at will.
"It's seven hours till sunrise. We can hold out until then." Ilana said, still not looking back at them.
"What the hell is going on? I've dealt with werewolves before!" Buffy said. "They usually don't act like this."
"Oh really?" Ilana turned around. "Just how many werewolves have you 'dealt with' before?"
"Err.. well.. One." The blonde answered.
"And let me guess.. he locked himself up on the nights of the full moon, just to make sure he didn't hurt anyone? Well these are different. They're human beings 27 days of the month, with different jobs and different lives. But, once every full moon they come here.. to hunt and kill. Wolves are pack animals by nature remember?"
"Ahh fuck." Faith said. "So we're dealing with an entire family of shape changing freaks that howl at the moon and hump people's legs? Fuckin' great.. "
"If you want to put it that way, yes. They are a family, and they need to eat."
"Ok miss, what do you have here?" Storm said, standing up and surveying the inside of the cabin. Suprisingly, he seemed to be moving and doing much better. "We need to be armed and right now, it seems that I have the only gun."
He held up his Heckler and Kock model 94 automatic 9mm.
"In my experience, those are never helpful." Buffy quipped, watching him move from place to place. She was impressed by how thorough he was, even though injured.
"Hey lady, you do what you do.. I'll do what I do. So what's the what?"
"I have two rifles and a pistol," Ilana said. "All with silver bullets. I also have a few close quarter weapons of silver, in case they get too close."
"Those are ours.. " Faith said, crossing to the far wall and drawing off a sword that most would think was only for decoration and tossing it to Buffy. It was a double edged longsword, made of pure silver. Then the brunette pulled the matching short sword from the wall, spinning it in her hand. "This'll do."
"Yeah. Now how do we keep those bastards out?" the soldier asked Ilana.
"They normally don't bother me. I don't know, now that you are here. They're bound to try to get in. I'm taking a hell of a risk bringing you folks here," the redhead said, securing the door tighter.
"So why the hell did you, if it's that much of a risk?" Faith asked, holding the sword as if it were an extension of her body.
"Because I didn't want to see you die, like everyone else." The redhead said flatly.
The rumbling continued outside, along with the occasional bang upon the boarded windows.
"Fuck!" Faith exclaimed, holding her sword at the ready.
"It's ok." Ilana said. "They do that all the time. It'll pass.. I hope."
Faith and Buffy both got up to patrol the perimeter. They inspected each window and door on the ground floor and found them heavily secured. "Okay then. You're secure. So why'd you bother with us?"
"I told you. I didn't want to see you die." Ilana said, still scanning through the slats of the windows.
The moon was still shining through the slats, the light from the few gas lamps accentuated by the natural light of the night.
Again there was a banging at the door and the two Slayers spun into their individual stances. "Fuck!" Faith exclaimed, pushing her bodyweight against the door to secure it as the noises continued on the other side. The brunette pushed her weight against the door with her right shoulder and swung out against the offensive limb with the sword in her left hand.
"B, we need something else to bar the door!" she exclaimed, noting the 2x6 that was lying on the floor smashed to flinders.
"I have something!" Ilana said, running to the back of the room and producing a large tire iron. The two Slayers slammed the large piece of metal into the door jars and leaned their weight against it, catching their breath.
"Goddamn, that was fucking intense!" Faith exclaimed.
"So what do we do now?" Buffy asked, pacing back and forth.
"Now we wait for sunrise." Ilana said.
"No way. There's gotta be some way out of here ma'am." Storm paced the floor with suprising energy, surveying the slats in the windows himself.
"There is.. " Ilana said, pointing out the window. "Through them."
"Greeeeaaat.. " the raven haired Slayer sat down again and propped her feet up on the table while listening to the pounding outside. "So then I guess we wait."
Buffy crossed the room and motioned to the soldier's weapon. "Sit down and stop waving that thing around.. How's your shoulder?"
"Actually it doesn't feel too bad." He said, flexing the aforementioned limb and felt no pain. "That shot must still be kicking." Buffy checked the bandage for blood seepage and was satisfied that it didn't need to be changed, so she sat down as well.
"So what's with this waiting around shit? Haven't you ever considered leaving here? Or fighting?" Faith changed the subject.
"Ever tried selling a house that was in the middle of woods infested by werewolves?" the redhead asked sarcastically.
"Oh hell, quit whining Ilana!" the soldier suddenly blurted. "You've been living here since you were 12; you had plenty chances to leave."
"Shut the fuck up, Storm!"
Both Slayers looked up at the same time, a realization coming over them both. However, Buffy was the one to voice it first. "You two know each other?"
They both hesitated for a moment.
"Yeah we do." Ilana finally admitted. "When their team first made insertion here, I was their contact… They wanted someone who knew the terrain. Who knew the creatures' hunting habits."
"Yeah but we still ended up being totally unprepared!" Storm spat. "You told us that there would only be a few.. we never expected fifty of the motherfuckers!"
Faith stood, holding her arms out. "Shut up, both of you. Before I start kicking some ass, myself. You guys don't want that. Believe me."
"We're not doing any good bickering with each other. What we should be concerned with is.. them!" Buffy pointed to the wooden stairway. There were two lupine forms descending menacingly and slowly, their claws extended. It was only the close proximity of the rest of the pack, which kept from tripping her senses to the intruders' presence.
The trained infantryman raised his weapon right away, leveling close to twenty bullets into the human/wolf hybrids. They both fell heavily upon the stairs but still showed signs of stirring and returning to life. The Slayers ran forward with their weapons, mounting the stairs and cutting deeply into their fallen foes and assuring that they did not rise again.
Afterward, they lept over the bodies and proceeded up the stairs to investigate where the two intruders had gotten in. Taking two stairs at a time, they quickly ascended to the second level and checked each individual room for signs of entry.
Bursting into one room, they immediately saw another form making its way between broken wooden slats that covered the bedroom window. Instinctively, Buffy ran forward and hit him with a flying kick that knocked the beast from the window down to the ground. "Put that in your memory bank." She said as she watch it crash to the ground.
Immediately, Ilana followed them into the room with more wood and nails to bar the window once again. Quickly, they placed the wooden slats against the now bare space and used the hammer to nail them into place.
Afterward they all sat on the bed.
"Now.. " Faith said. "Let's talk about getting outta here, dammit! Fuck this waitin' around shit."
Buffy reached out and brought her into a short kiss and looked her over. "You ok, baby?"
The brunette glared methodically at both the redhead and Agent Storm who was just now making himself to the door. "Yeah.. For now."
"You have no idea how hard it is!" the redhead stood, tears streaming down her face. "You don't know how hard it is to get away.. Or to be a member of this damned family!"
She ran her fingers through her hair and faced the group again, her mouth open painfully with fangs extending from what had been her human canines..
The two Slayers leapt from the bed that they had been seated on and held their weapons at the ready, watching the horrifying transformation underway before them. The once lovely redhead's face began to rearrange and twist, the muscles in her face stretching as her jaw protruded suddenly forward into a short snout that was punctuated by extended fangs.
"What do we do?" Buffy asked Faith, knowing they only had a few moments before Ilana's transformation was complete. However, she didn't want to kill the girl, if she could help it.
The raven haired Slayer looked over at her girlfriend. "Grab her!" Then she nodded, lunging for the transforming lycanthrope. Buffy followed closely behind and the two defenders tackled the redhead around the waist dragging her to the ground as she screamed through the pain of transformation.
With their individual weight pressed on her, they could literally feel the bones popping and rearranging beneath the skin's surface. The cacophony of movement, literally caused a waving ripple beneath Ilana's skin as she continued to scream, her transformation all but complete and her screams becoming bestial howls.
The soldier looked on in abject horror at the sight before him.
"What the hell are you waiting for? Get us something to tie her up! NOW!" Buffy screamed at him as she wrestled with the now hairy form.
Storm raced back down the hallway, in desperate search of something to restrain their "host".
The three sat at the table silently, staring at the struggling form of what had once been Ilana. She was restrained fully, with everything from leather straps that were found lying next to the boots at the front door to a bit of chain that looked like it had once been used to keep a guard dog bound to a yard stake.
"So tell me again why we don't waste her.. " Storm said, using a white chamois to clean and maintain the intricate parts of his HK-94 automatic. There was a definite need to make sure that all weapons were in good working order, as demonstrated by Faith who sat sharpening the nicks out of the edge of her short sword.
"Because we know her!" The blonde Slayer exclaimed, examining her own weapon. "She helped us. Even though she is one of those.. things. I can tell she doesn't want to be."
"And that makes her a non-hostile because..?"
"Because she's a normal, good-hearted person on everyday except the full moon! That's the problem with you military types. You'd rather follow orders and blow things away than take each individual threat into consideration." Buffy retorted. She thought back to another time in her life. Riley, The Initiative, none of them really understood what it was to stand face to face with evil and realize the variances between the different types.
"Hell.. " the brunette looked up from her job of honing her blade. "Why don't you guys just put the world through a meat grinder? At least then we'd all come out looking the same. Would that make things simpler for you?"
"Look!" the soldier said, slamming his weapon down on the table and standing. "All I'm saying is this. You girls might be right. But right now, this minute, if she gets free she's going to try and kill us all."
They all looked over at the struggling form that was pressing against its bonds, growling intermittently.
"She's not going to get loose." Buffy said. "They're not much stronger than humans. All we have to do is let her lie here and find a way out of this shit hole."
"So how do we do that?"
"Well, it's been pretty quiet for the past while hasn't it?"
"Actually yeah." Storm answered the blonde Slayer's question. "What do you think they're doing?"
"What would you guys be doing in this situation? They're regrouping. Getting ready for their next attack. That's why we have to move now." She glanced through the slats at Ilana's truck which was roughly 20 yards from the front door. And as much as she scanned, she couldn't see one lupine form.
Faith moved next to her, also surveying the situation through the small eye space. Turning she said, "Yeah. We have to go now."
Crossing the floor, the raven haired Slayer moved to the soldier and raised her hand to move his chest piece to the side. "Lemme check your wound before we go." She said.
Storm, moved away quickly from her grasp. "Actually I'd rather you didn't.." a violent look was on his face.
A sudden realization went over both Slayers at once. The operative had been moving quite well, since his arrival here at the cabin. Their panic at fighting off the pack had left them truly unobservant of how much his condition had strengthened since they first found him lying almost dead in the forest. And there was no way, at this point, that he could say that a simple morphine shot had done this.
"Aww, shit! Not you too!" Faith slugged him, hard across the face with Buffy moving to catch his unconscious form.
They had duct taped him to a chair by the time he had even vaguely started to regain consciousness. They had indeed checked his wound, to find it almost entirely healed. What had been torn and rendered almost to the bone was now nothing more than slight scratch marks on smooth and regrown skin.
"Wakey, wakey little stranger.. " Faith said to him as he slowly regained his grasp on reality.
"What do you bitches want?!" he exclaimed, struggling against the bonds. "What did you do to me?" The female lycanthrope that was bound in the corner began to struggle anew, fighting and growling against her own bonds to obtain her freedom.
"It's called restriction and restraint." Buffy said calmly to both of them. Agent Storm's forehead had begun to sprout coarse hairs along the brow and his ankles popped at the main joint as it elongated. "Get used to it, as we now leave!"
The two Slayers flung the door bar aside and ran out the door as the soldier continued to transform. His forearms doubled in size and the duct tape began to tear as he violently struggled against it. The growls of frustration from both beasts grew as they both ran from the house toward the truck that was parked in the circle driveway.
All at once, three forms leapt at them from the shadows. The two Slayers countered immediately. Faith impaled one beast as it sailed upon her shoulder, sending its dead body slumping to the ground.
Buffy, on the other hand, encountered two of the beasts at once. The older Slayer used her silvered longsword and evaded a claw strike, at the same time striking across the abdomen and immediately following with a cut across the back of the neck as the beast doubled over.
They both ran for all they were worth toward the truck. Faith, reaching the driver's side first, yanked the door open and checked for the keys.
"Fuck!" She exclaimed, finding none. The brunette slid into the driver's seat, reaching underneath for the ignition wires. Also noting Buffy rounding the front of the truck, she exclaimed as she worked. "B, c'mon!!!!"
Finding the necessary wires she hit the right combination for the ignition and the engine roared to life as a lycanthropic form landed squarely on the hood.
"Holy Shit!" Buffy screamed as Faith slammed down on the accelerator, sending the vehicle lurching forward down the mountain road.
"Ok, B.. Here's the deal." The brunette said, taking one hand off the wheel briefly. "Next time you suggest vacation, you let ME pick the spot, ok???? "
"Deal.. " The blonde said, holding on as Faith barreled down the mountain roads.
From behind them, they could hear the consistent rumble of the beasts they had left behind. They knew that they would have to come back here. To hunt. To take down the beasts. But for now they were safe.
But they could still hear it. The howling.