Of Birds and Slayers

(Papa Roach – She loves me not)

She flew over Cleveland for a long time until reaching the graveyard. The brunette needed to calm down, and kicking some vamps’s butts would be good.

‘She doesn’t trust me, she thinks my feelings are just lies.’ Shannah landed in front of a tombstone and crashed it with her claws.

“Look guys, a fallen angel!” a voice came from behind her. A group of vampires surrounded the young girl.

“Exactly what I wanted!” Shannah grinned. She was the first one to attack and quickly reduced their number. “Want more bastards?” she wasn’t just staking them, but slaughtering them. The air she was breathing was full of dust, and her clothes were stained with blood. She killed the last vampire and sighed. Suddenly, she felt a hand gripping her shoulder. Shannah turned around in a rush and stuck her six claws in the vampire’s chest.

‘Oh fuck...’ Shannah’s eyes opened wide when she saw the girl she had stabbed wasn’t a vampire. A look of horror on her face, The Phoenix drew in her claws and the girl fell on the ground, in the muddy grass. She was a young girl, about fifteen, wearing baggy clothes.

“No! Don’t die please don’t die!” Shannah was screaming and trying to put some pressure on the wounds, but it was too late. The girl choked on her own blood and died in pain. The brunette’s hands were covered with blood. Human blood.

“What have I done...God”

Shannah noticed a lump under the girl’s shirt, she held up the shirt slightly and gasped.

‘She’s a Slayer...I killed a Slayer...’ She couldn’t believe it. For a sec she thought she was dreaming, or maybe it was a joke. No...The girl’s eyes were still looking at the sky, blood pouring from her mouth, no more heartbeats to be heard. The brunette’s head was spinning fast and her hands shaking. For a sec she had to fight the urge to puke. She kept staring at the dead girl several minutes until she was able to move.

‘I must hide her...maybe at Lake Erie...’ she stood up and took the body in her arms.

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It was very late when she came back. Kennedy was already sleeping. Shannah went to the bathroom and took off her bloody clothes, she would burn them later with a fireball. For now she had to wash herself. Even under the shower, she could still feel the blood on her hands and her face. She had killed an innocent, a Slayer what’s more! She was born to save them, and she had killed one of them.

“That must mean that you’re evil.” She heard a voice saying. She stared at the mirror...it was her reflection who had spoken. Her eyes were black, her features were coarse and her face very dark.

“Fuck you...” Shannah muttered to the mirror.

“That’s what you are! Violence, Rage! You can’t help what you are!” The reflection smirked.

“Shut up!” The brunette shouted and smashed the mirror into pieces. She stared at her injured fist several seconds, an expression of shock on her face. The pieces of glass went out of her skin and fell on the floor, while her wounds were healing quickly.

‘I can’t control myself anymore...’ she heard movements on the other side of the room. Kennedy was awake and coming into the bathroom. She had to hide the stained clothes. She locked the door, changed, put the clothes in the shower and threw a fireball to them. With her wings, she eliminated the smoke, waving it towards the opened window. Kennedy banged on the door.

“Shannah, is that you? What are you doing?” The Slayer asked worried.

“Go away!” Shannah shouted a little too harshly than she wanted.

“Fuck you!” she heard Kennedy leaving their bedroom, slamming the door behind her. The clothes were nearly ashes. Then she heard cries coming from the rooms around.

“Let us sleep!”

“Shut the fuck up!”

“It’s 4 a.m.!”

But this other voice she heard was not human.

“You’ll be mine, soon.”

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(Deftones – Change)
The next morning, Shannah didn’t talk to anyone. She went into her classroom and waited for Faith to come. The bell rang and the students entered the room. When Kelly stepped in, she laughed and leant in to speak into her friend’s ear. Even if there was a crowd in the classroom, Shannah could hear what they were saying.

“I swear, she’s gonna leave this bitchy Latina for me!”

“After last night, I’m sure you won your bet!” Both girls heard the sound of a sheathed sword and looked towards Shannah whose claws were out. Her eyes were fully black and the Slayers could read madness inside. The Phoenix jumped on Kelly and pinned her against the wall. Everybody was paralyzed in the room. Shannah was shaking the blond Slayer violently when Faith caught her by the arm and punched her.

“Are you fucking insane?” The Rogue Slayer shouted at her friend.

“Leave me alone!” Shannah shouted back and left.

“No, you’re not gonna get rid of me!” she followed the brunette into the hall.

“What the fuck is going on with you? Is it because of your fight with Kennedy?”

“Stop it! Stop trying helping me okay? Get the fuck out of my sight!” The Phoenix pushed her friend away and ran away.

“Damn!” The Rogue Slayer yelled. She rushed into Buffy’s office.

“Baby, we’ve got a serious problem with Shay.” The blonde Slayer was sitting at her desk, looking through some reports. She glanced up at her girlfriend.

“What’s happening?”

“I think she’s turning insane! Or maybe she’s possessed, I don’t know, but she’s not the Shannah I know!” Faith babbled, pacing around restless.

“What makes you think that?”

“Well, maybe because she nearly beat up to death Kelly Morgan ten minutes ago! And you heard her quarrel with Kennedy last night, like the rest of us. I didn’t see her this morning for breakfast, it was the first time in nine months that we didn’t eat together. I don’t know... She is behaving like, like...”

“You?” Buffy raised an eyebrow. “When you were lost I mean...” Faith frowned and thought about it several seconds.

“Yeah...” the Rogue Slayer paused. “What are we gonna do?”

“Try to help her.” Buffy answered calmly.

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