Fate
by Lia
Rating: R
Disclaimer: The characters are property of Joss Whedon, UPN, Mutant Enemy, etc,
etc, etc. The only thing that belongs to me is my sick twisted plot, and the
other characters that help the story.
Feedback: Yes please, the more feedback I get, the faster you will have the
continuations; besides it is the only way I know if you really liked the story
and if you want more.
There's blood in my hands, her blood. She looks at the knife and then at me with pleading eyes. I touch her golden hair; it gets stained with the red liquid. She gasps for air while touching her wound. She mumbles something I can't make up, she just looks at me.
"Buffy?"
"Buffy?"
"Don't you die on me."
My tears combine themselves with her blood; she closes her eyes slowly, so slowly.
"BUFFY!"
"BUFFY, TALK TO ME PLEASE" I shake her, but she won't open her eyes.
"Buffy… forgive me… BUFFY..."
I jump up from bed, sweating, breathing hard, and shaking. I glance at my alarm clock; the red numbers are blinking twelve. It was all a dream, just a dream, a meaningless dream. But I saw her, I saw her lying there by my side, I cried, I cried so hard. I touch my eyes; they're still wet; I really must have cried then.
I am still breathing hard, but I lie down on bed again. I roll over in all directions, but I can't manage to fall asleep; the red blinking light coming from the alarm clock bothers me, but I try to ignore it. A couple of minutes go by, but it makes me too sick; I get up and unplug the damn thing, and finally feel a little relieved.
I don't go back to bed though; I feel something like a knot underneath my chest and I know for sure that it won’t let me sleep. I put my clothes on and grab a pack of cigarettes from my lamp drawer.
I get upstairs to the top of the building; every time I want to think about something I do that. It is a very quiet place, especially at four in the morning, when the rest of the people is just sleeping.
I get to the roof; the wind is very cold out here; that’s why I miss California sometimes. Here it is so different, but I needed a fresh start out of all those damn bad memories that stalked me all the way throughout jail.
I light a cigarette and start smoking. This is really weird; I mean I’ve had nightmares before, but never like this. It felt so real, so vivid, so clear. I felt her pain, I cried her tears, I regretted it at the end, but she died. I killed her.
I sit on the edge of the roof, with my feet hanging outside. My stare gets lost in the sky. I like that moment, that unique moment in where the darkness becomes clear, and the night becomes day. I know, sounds more like a cheap high-school metaphor than anything else, but I still like it.
I glance at my watch again, six thirty five. I have to get ready to go to work. As I get downstairs to my apartment, I hear my telephone ringing. All that is in my mind is that it might be B’s friends, or B. I don't know why, it's just a gut.
I search for the key in my pockets, while the phone keeps on ringing. I finally open the door and get the phone before the answering machine does.
"Hello?"
"Faith?"
"B?"
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, you're not Buffy."
"No, I'm sorry. My name is Solange. I'm Mary's daughter."
"Oh, Am I fired?" I try to joke, but it obviously doesn’t work.
"No, she's having migraine, and not feeling well enough to go to work. Can you come by and pick up the keys to open?"
"Uh, sure… just let me take a quick shower. I'll be there in about an hour. Is it ok with you?"
"Yeah I'll be here, but knock the door, not the bell. Mom doesn't want any noise."
"Sure kid. 968 Princeton Road, right?" I check the paper on which I had written my boss' address.
"965."
"Ok, got it. See you then."
"Bye."
I hang up the phone and quickly start to undress in my way to the bathroom. I step on the tub and turn the water knob around. It makes me gasp for air at the beginning, but then it gains temperature. After a couple of minutes, I'm done with my hair and step out of the tub. I grab some clothes and toss them onto the bed. Put on my deodorant, dry my hair, and dress up.
The place is not that far away from here, so I walk. All the stores are closed at this time of the day, so I don't get distracted looking at that antiques store on 46th avenue.
I throw away what I have left of the cigarette, and put my finger on the bell, but then I remember what the girl said to me and knock on the door.
*Door Opens*
My heart skips a beat when I see this; she looks so alike to B. "Wow, I…"
"Hi, are you Faith?"
"Uh… Yeah… I… Yeah… I'm Faith, and you are?"
"I'm Solange remember?"
"Oh yeah, sorry, I do. Uh, you got the keys?"
"Oh yeah, here" she hands me the keys.
"Thanks" I turn around and start to go away.
"Hey" she stops me "I'm walking that way too. We can walk together if you wish."
"Sure."
We walk in silence for a while but then I start asking her for stuff. She studies at a junior college, and she's not related at all to any Summers person in California, nor has she ever heard of Sunnydale.
Suddenly I look at the antiques store. It is open now, and when I glance inside, I see a knife that calls my attention, the very knife I saw in my dream today.
"…So yeah, my mom was…" she looks at me "Faith, are you ok?"
I react and look at her "Yeah… Yeah… I am."
"Why are you looking that way then?"
"Whu… what? The store? Uh… I, I remembered I had to buy someone there for a friend's birthday."
She realizes I'm lying, and doesn't ask for further information. "Oh."
"I'll be back in a minute ok?"
"Yeah… sure" she makes a weird face.
I go into the store and there's a freaky looking guy looking at the door. I had never come inside, despite of all the times that I've looked at it from the glass.
At the very moment I step into the store he tells me "I knew you'd came by today."
"What?"
"You've had a premonition."
"Look I have no time for this non-sense. I want the knife."
"It was meant to be your knife."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah… with money everything is destined to be mine."
"I'm not joking, I'll tell you your whole life if you don't believe me."
"I just want the damn knife. I don't care what the hell you think."
"You better change your manners kid, before I decide the knife is not on sale."
"Alright, do whatever… Stick your fucking knife through your ass" I walk away mad.
"Wait."
I turn around "what?"
"One must never play with the means of destiny. Take the knife."
"How much?"
"Just take it."
"No, I don't accept gifts from strangers. Call a number."
"Hundred."
"Hundred bucks?"
"You said 'call a number'."
"Let me take a look at it."
He hands me the knife, and I check it out, it looks something worth its price.
"So?"
"I'll take it" but I have no cash, all I got now is the old mayor's card which I don't even know if still works. "You accept credit card?" I hand back the knife.
"I must run an antique store dear, but that doesn't mean I'm not up to date with the rest of stuff."
"Ok, here" I give him the card, hoping that no one has retired the money. It even looks a little old.
"All done, here's your knife" he hands me a box "It's been a pleasure making business with you."
"Fuck you."
*Door Closes*
As I walk out I hear the guy mutter, "She was destined to die in your hands."
Summers' House || 02:53 a.m.
*Door Knock*
"Who is it?"
"Wills? Can I come in?"
"Bu… Buffy? Are you ok?" A sleepy-looking girl opens the door of the bedroom.
"Something weird just happened to me, and I can't sleep anymore."
"Don't stay there, come inside."
I sit on the bed and sigh "I had the weirdest dream."
"Was it a nightmare?"
"I don't know, but it was creepy."
"Why?"
"I died."
"You died?"
"Yeah, I was stabbed, and it felt like I had really died. I mean, I felt the pain and everything."
"Who stabbed you?"
"That's the weirdest part. Faith did."
"Our Faith? As in that crazy psychopath we used to hang out with?"
"Yeah, she was crying though. I could tell she regretted it at the very end. Do you think it is some kind of premonition or anything like that?"
"No, I think you're being somewhat paranoid, Buffy; besides, she is in jail, isn't she?"
"I don't know, I hope so."
"Don't let it get to you, it was just a dream."
"Yeah, you're right. It's just that it's pretty weird to dream about her, and even weirder to dream about her killing me, being that something she really wants to do."
"Yeah, I'm sure it is weird, but this doesn't look like a premonition."
"I'm a let you rest now. I'm getting sleepy myself already, too."
"See you in a couple of hours, then."
"Ok, sorry for having bugged you with this non-sense."
"Don't worry sweetie." The redhead kisses softly her friend's forehead. "You know I'm here, never hesitate to come and tell me things."
"Thanks Wills."
"Aight."
*Door Closes*
I go back to my room, close the door behind me, and lean against it. Maybe Willow is right and I'm being paranoid about this, but what if she's not right and she told me that because she just wanted me to go to sleep. But… she wouldn't do that to me, would she? I mean how many times we've stayed up all night trying to figure out something that she needed, or trying to help her. I don't think she would tell me the first thing she comes up with so I just go back to sleep and don't bug her anymore.
Still, that dream was pretty creepy; I mean I've died before but never like that. I felt my blood coming out through the wounds. I wanted to ask her why, but now even with all my slayer strength I could gather myself together and talk. I let myself die. I didn't want to be alive anymore. And… where was that place? I've never been there. It looked ancient, it didn't look like somewhere around the corner. It was weird.
I start fidgeting around the room, trying to shake the feeling off, but I can't. So finally, I decide to do something I promised myself I wasn't going to unless it was something beyond me. And even though this is not totally beyond me, there's something I just have to know.
I pick up the phone and hear the line tone for a while without dialling any number. Eventually there's no more line tone, and I have to hang up.
I pick it up again, but this time I dial the number. It is ringing…
<Hello?>
"______"
<Hello?>
"Hi, may I please speak to Angel?"
<Who is this?>
"I'm Buffy, a friend. Just tell him my name; he'll know it's me."
<Yeah, it's not a very common name. Wait a minute ok?>
"Thanks uh… what's your name?"
<I'm Fred.>
"Thanks Fred." Dare you talking about uncommon names.
A while goes by, and it seems that no one is picking up the phone. I'm about to hang up, when I hear some noise around again.
<Buffy?>
It's him. "I'm sorry I have to bother you…"
<It's ok Buffy… I'm usually alive at this time of the day. If alive is an expression that can be applied to me in any way.> He jokes a little.
"I just have a question."
<Ask away…>
"You remember about Faith?"
He laughs. <Not very easy to forget about her.>
"She's in jail, isn't she?"
<You call me at three in the morning, when you're supposed to be sleeping; just to ask me if your former enemy is still in jail? What happened to you Buffy? Are you alright?>
"Yes I am, Angel. Nothing's happened. I just need to know."
<As a matter fact, she's not in jail anymore. She got her parole about seven months ago, and I believe she's started a new life somewhere else.>
"I see…"
<Can you tell me why are you asking me this?>
I don't want to worry him with that, so I make up something. "Uhm… I was watching TV and I saw a girl who looks like her passing by, you know how curious I am, couldn't help but asking you, sorry."
<It's ok I guess. How have you been doing?>
"I'm alright, what about you?"
<I'm alright myself too.>
"I see… Hey, I won't make you waste anymore time; thanks for everything. Real pleasure talking to you again."
<Same here, take care.>
"You too, bye."
>Bye.>
I put down the phone and sit on the edge of the bed. She's not in jail anymore. Is it possible that all of this is only a coincidence… I mean what are the chances of Faith killing me in some medieval alley? Right! It's only a dream silly, you have to stop taking things too seriously. Yeah, I shouldn't be doing this to me. I'm stressing myself with stupid things. I should better go back to sleep.
Summers' House || 09:47 a.m.
I go downstairs and find Willow sitting in front of her computer drinking coffee.
"Hi Buffy… slept well?"
"Yeah. So early, and already on the internet? Geeze… you can't help yourself, can you?"
"You want some coffee?"
"Yeah thanks."
She goes to the kitchen to make some coffee and I go to the computer to check my e-mail account.
Login: BuffySummers
Password: **********
The thing says that I've got mail. I open my inbox, and there's something weird on the screen. There's a new message, but it's been sent from my own address. It could be a virus, but something tells me I have to open it.
The header says that it was sent today at 02:53 a.m. It has nothing written on it, but it has an attachment. I click on it to download, and wait for it to open.
Willow comes back from the kitchen with my coffee, and tells me "Now who's on the internet so early?"
I can't answer, though. I'm too shocked by what I have in front of me, in the screen. The attachment was a picture, but not a regular picture. It's a picture of a knife, the very knife I was stabbed with in my dream.
...to be continued...