Lust

Chapter 16: Whisper (warning some gruesome stuff references to rape and murder)

Faith’s eye glowed deep gold as her lips twisted into a snarl at the slaughter. Torn bodies were everywhere, legs, arms, and torsos littered the lawn. Girl’s bodies hung out of windows and from trees, the ground was still soft from the amount of blood that soaked into it. The house was stained as rivers of blood trickled down the side of it. The blood hadn’t dried yet from the humidity of the forest; the stench of death surrounded the area as the corpses laid in horrific angles. Faith heard Buffy behind her gagging; she turned around and looked at her. Tears were running down her face as she tried hard not to lose it. Faith looked back and looked down, the eyes of a young girl stared up at her empty, her face still twisted in horror. Faith surveyed the clothes some of the girls had on their bodies, the rest of the girls were naked.

“They were attacked during the night” she said into the thick silence as she bent down, closing the girls eyes.

“What did this?” Buffy sobbed as she looked over the young girls.

“Ronwe’s army and what it looks like a couple vampires or one I am not sure. I have to look over all the bodies to find out. It looks like they were hit only a couple days ago” Faith said calmly.

“Why are they naked?” Buffy asked looking at the ground; she didn’t want it to be true. Faith looked at her sadly.

“They were tortured and raped” Faith said, wincing as Buffy sobbed again as she put her head into her hands.

“I should have sent for them sooner, I should have come sooner” she said over and over in her hands. Faith gathered the small slayer in her arms as and led her away from the gruesome scene. She sat her down on the ground where they first arrived and rocked back and forth as Buffy clung to her, sobbing into her shoulder.

“They would have killed you too if you came here without backup. Now I know this is all horrible but we need to check the bodies and search for survivors” Faith finally said as Buffy’s sobs subsided. Buffy looked up at Faith, getting lost in her dark eyes as Faith smiled sadly at her. She nodded her agreement as she stood up, pulling Faith up with her. Buffy rubs at the spot on Faith’s shirt that was stained with her tears.

“Sorry” she whispered as Faith waved her hand over her shoulder, the spot disappearing in a second.

“Don’t be” she whispered to the Slayer as she pulled her into a hug. Buffy sighed at the contact, her heart beating a little bit faster. Faith felt the change in Buffy’s demeanor as she readied herself to face the massacre again. She pulled back and looked her in the eye. Buffy nodded at her but grabbed her hand, not letting go. Faith smiled at her as she lead the way through the brush and back into the yard. Faith took an unneeded breathe as she turned to Buffy.

“Let’s look for survivors first then we will look over the bodies” she said as she lead Buff passed all the bodies and into the house. She turned back to Buffy before reaching for the doorknob.

“Don’t touch anything” she whispered as she opened the door, moving Buffy back as the door opened to reveal the carnage inside.

The floors were slick with blood that glistened in the humidity on the house. Faith motioned for Buffy to follow her as she walked into the main hall, each step sticking to the floor as the sounds of the blood underneath their feet echoed in the silence. Buffy covered her mouth, the stench worse then outside. Inside was a mix of demon and human bodies and parts littered the house as flies swarmed the place.

They walked slowly as tears started to flow down Buffy’s face again. Some girls still had weapons in their hands, and some didn’t have hands left.

“What kind of demons could do this?” Buffy said as she walked passed one, stomping on its arms.

“They are hybrids, like this dimensions Hellhounds but worse. Ronwe created them for Lucifer’s army. The only way they are killed is if you get to their hearts, which are encased in a two layers of bone shell that’s harder then diamonds. The only weakness is that if you strike just above the shell, but you have to get close enough to strike there” Faith said as she kicked one over to its back to show her. She bent down, first making sure it was dead then pointed out where a dagger stuck out between the demons neck and breastbone.

“You have to swing down, so killing it with a sword is difficult. You enter just above here” she pointed to where the breastbone would be on a human, “And shove down hard, cutting through a thick membrane into the heart” she said as she lifted the demons arms, motioning to the thick armor that was its skin.

“You can’t do it any other way, the skin and the armor they put on top of them makes it nearly impossible to go through any angle and you run the risk of snapping your blade which will leave you in a disadvantage” she said pointing to the demons hands.

“Slayers are strong but they have to reach for a weapon” shecontinued as she picked up the demons hand and pressing hard, causing razor claw to extend like a cats paw, she looked up at Buffy.

“But us demons, we don’t have to reach for anything. Our weapons are right here, we are the weapons” she said as she put the demons arm down.

“You have to reach for a weapon” Buffy said as Faith smiled sadly at her. Faith just held up her hand and snapped her fingers. The demons head snapped to the side, a sickening crunch echoed through the house.

“My weapon is my mind and my body” she said as she turned back towards, leaving Buffy to stare at the demon before following after her.

“What else hasn’t she told me?” Buffy thought as they went through each room of the house. Faith sighed, knowing she was going to have to tell Buffy about all of her powers sooner or later.

“Hopefully later” she thought as she started searching the main grounds for survivors, knowing they weren’t going to find any.

They started outside first, searching for any hidden tunnels, but everything was opened and bodies were everywhere.

“They didn’t even have a chance” Faith said as they walked back to the house an hour later

“God I don’t know how much I can take this” Buffy said as she stepped onto the porch.

“You take a break and then go upstairs to see if anyone is hiding out. I will search the main floor” she said as she patted Buffy on the shoulder before entering the house. She searched the kitchen, the living room, two downstairs bedrooms and what looked like a large meeting room. Buffy met her in the hallway,

“Anything?” she asked. Faith shook her head no as she walked towards Buffy.

She stopped, picking up on a faint sound coming from the basement door. She looked at the door, stretching her senses to see what was on the other side. She heard the faint sound of shuffling feet.

“Buffy you look upstairs I am going downstairs” Faith called she said looking at the door. Buffy looked at her curiously,

“Yea” came the sad reply from Buffy as Faith smiled at her, watching her walk up the stairs.

Faith disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the door. She stared at the blockade that was in shambles. “They must have tried to keep them out and it didn’t work” she thought as she calmly walked down the stairs, stepping over bodies as she made her way into the basement. The sun filtered around a body of a girl stuck in the window, her lower half of her body gone, a bloody pool underneath the window.

“Lumen” she whispered, light suddenly flooding the room, causing her to lose sight from the sudden brightness. Something swung out at her from the side. She stepped back as the figure circled her, a broad sword in her hand. She felt someone behind her and ducked just as an axe came flying over her head and sticking into the wall. Faith just walked back towards the stairs, realizing she was surrounded.

“Who the hell are you” the one figure said as Faith’s sight returned to her. There were six girls in total; one was pulling the axe out of the wall. They were all covered in blood, cuts and bruises, their clothes hung in tatters off their bodies as they stared at Faith maliciously. She put her hands up slowly and smiled at them.

“I don’t mean any harm I am here to help” she said looking into the eyes of the girl who spoke first.

“You are not human” she growled back, her grip tightening around the sword.

“No but not all demons are bad, Buffy has already taught you that” she said sternly and she opened her mind to find Buffy in the house.

“What do you know about her?” one of the other girls said, dropping her arms, fatigue evident in her body.

“No better yet how the hell did you get here? Transportation was cut off by the bringers before they attacked” the first girl growled.

“Buffy I found survivors I need you to get to the basement now!” Faith thought as she felt Buffy rush from the rooms above. Suddenly there was a loud crash as Buffy plowed through the basement door. The girls sprung into their offensive stances.

“Girl’s its okay it’s me” Buffy called out as she ran down the stairs and into the light. When Buffy came into view many of the girls dropped their weapons and started crying as they ran to her, gripping her tightly as they huddled around her. Tears were flowing down Buffy’s face as she whispered to them.

“You guys are okay now, its okay you guys are safe I’m bringing you back home. I am so sorry I should have come sooner I am so sorry please forgive me” she cried to them as the girls hugged her in a huge group hug. The first girl just stood there, the tip of her sword resting on the ground next to her. Buffy looked up as the girls stepped back, wiping the tears from their dirt and blood stained faces.

“Lehana?” Buffy said to the girl standing in front of Faith. The girl looked up, tears flowing down her face as she took in deep breathes.

“I couldn’t protect them Buffy, I promised I would look after them and I watched them die one by one. He wouldn’t kill me; he wanted me to watch them. He forced me to watch them be raped over and over again by those foul demons then by him, and then he tortured them to death. I was to be the last one; he wanted me to see what my fate was going to be. I fought and grabbed who I could and came here, we took the wounded into the tunnel, but they knew about it and were waiting there for us. They killed them all there. I couldn’t stop them!” she screamed as she sunk to her knees. Buffy was by her side instantly as the girls watched, muted in their sorrow as their leader finally broke down.

“We are all that is left, he destroyed everything, Angelus” she whispered before finally passing out in Buffy’s arms. Buffy looked up at Faith, the tears still flowing freely.

“We are going to take them back first, then we will come back and look the rest over” she said as Faith nodded. Faith walked over to the girls, smiling softly when they stepped back from her.

“I am not the bad guy” she smiled as she held out her hand, “I am going to take you back to Sunnydale. I need you to hold on tightly to me” she said as the girls tentatively grabbed onto her hand and arm. Buffy stood up with Lehana in her arms, glad to feel the girl’s heart beat going steadily in her chest. She walked over to Faith and stepped into her remaining arm, relaxing a bit as she felt Faith’s arm enclose her waist.

“Hold on” she said as she closed her eyes, disappearing from the hell.


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Willow walked over to the infirmary, smiling at Michelle as she sat down on Kat’s bed. She had been very good friends with Danny, helping Danny finally gain the courage to ask Kat to be her girlfriend. Kat smiled at Willow, pulling her into a hug with her good arm. A small scar was all that was left of the cut on her head, but her arm was taking longer then excepted.

“How are you holding up Kat?” she asked as she saw the tears rise up in Kat’s eyes. Willow smiled sadly back at her, rubbing her arm as Kat regained her composure.

“I miss her, god our one year anniversary is next week. We had this big celebration all planned out, now I have to bury her, but I can’t because there is nothing left to bury” she choked out as the tears flowed again. Willow pulled her into another hug, whispering soothing words to her as she petting her hair.

“I know its hard sweetie, but she’s watching over you now. Keep her alive in your heart and she will never be gone” Willow said and Kat leaned back, nodding her head as she wiped away her tears. Kennedy walked passed her with a bowl in one hand and a wash clothe in the other, she smiled at Kat before sitting on Leah’s bed setting the bowl on the table.

“Leah hasn’t woken up yet since the attack, she was the girl that I dragged behind me. She had passed out halfway down the tunnel when Danny called for help. We had to push her into the cavern, she hit her head pretty hard” Kat said as Kennedy dipped the wash clothe in the bowl and squeezed out the extra water. She started to wash Leah’s wounds and she talked to her quietly. They sat there watching Kennedy take care of Leah for a moment before Dawn came up to them.

“She never got on the plane. Her car is there but they said she never showed up. God she’s been missing for a day” Dawn said worriedly, the cordless phone in her hand.

“What?” Willow asked as she stood up. Dawn looked at her, the fear building in her eyes. Suddenly there was a loud commotion coming from the floor above. One of the girl’s ran over to the small balcony that overlooked the triage center, “Buffy is back!” she yelled down to them. Willow, Dawn and Kennedy ran up the stairs to hear Buffy’s voice calling for help.

“Rhona grab Lehana” Buffy shouted as Rhona grabbed the unconscious girl from Buffy’s arms as she collapsed to the floor.

“BUFFY!” Dawn yelled as she ran to her sister, helping her to her feet.

“I’m okay, damn it’s always the first step” she muttered as she held her head, forcing the room to stop spinning. The girls helped the weakened slayers off the floor and down into the infirmary while the rest of the crowd stared at Faith who just stood there, her arms crossed over her chest as she surveyed the crowd.

“Buffy” she said in a stern voice, her unease evident in her tone.

“I know Faith” she said as she turned to her sister and smiled.

“I have to go back and take care of some things” she smiled at Dawn before looking over at Willow. “I will explain everything. I want those girls sedated and treated; they have been through hell and deserve uninterrupted rest. They can spend these next few nights without the nightmares” she said as she turned towards Rhona,

“I will be back in a couple days, do what I told you to do” she said as she grabbed Faith’s hand.

“Are there anymore survivors?” Kennedy called out. Buffy turned around, the sorrow deep in her eyes.

“No” Buffy and Faith disappeared right in front of them.

“There were over a hundred girls at that base” Dawn whispered to Kennedy as they looked over the six remaining girls being put into beds.


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Faith held onto Buffy as they reappeared in front of the house, allowing time for the dizziness to pass.

“How are we going to do this by ourselves” Buffy said into Faith’s shoulder as she closed her eyes, the dizziness quickly fading.

“Don’t worry I can take care of this” Faith whispered into Buffy’s hair. Buffy stepped aside as Faith walked into the middle of the yard and clasped her hands. Buffy couldn’t hear what she was muttering but suddenly the bodies and parts were lifted gently into the air and soon rows were forming all around Faith. The wind started to pick up as bodies appeared from the woods and the house, row after row, body after body, lined up, parts returning to their original owner. Buffy watched in awed horror, unable to comprehend the power that Faith truly possessed. The whole process took three hours, bodies coming from the depths of the forests and tunnels, one by one. Finally Faith dropped her arms and swayed back and forth before falling to the ground.

“Faith!” Buffy yelled, rushing to her side.

“Haven’t had to do that in a long time, always took a lot out of me” Faith muttered. Buffy helped her to her feet.

“We have to rest now, we can finish tomorrow” Buffy said as she led Faith away from the clearing. They found the area where they first arrived and sat down, Buffy pulled her bag that she left there closer to her looking for supplies she packed. She pulled out some food,

“I don’t think I brought enough” she said as she looked at all of the supplies in the bag.

“I don’t need to eat, I do it because I like the taste of food that’s all” Faith said as she reclined against a tree. Suddenly a bunch of branches and leaves appeared in a small circle and caught fire. Faith smiled at her,

“You eat and rest” she said as she closed her eyes, humming quietly. Buffy watched her for a little while before digging into her food as she stared at Faith through the fire. She finished and pulled out her sleeping bag. The moon was high in the sky the stars twinkling brightly. She sighed as she closed her eyes, laying down in her sleeping bag, wishing that the nightmares wouldn’t come for her.


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“You failed us all Buffy, you are the one that let us die. It is all your fault” screamed the figures as they swirled around Buffy. She covered her ears as the tears flowed down her face.

“No it wasn’t I didn’t know please forgive me” she cried as she rocked back and forth, the images of the mutilated girls swirled around her.

“It was never your fault!” Faith’s voice resounding in the darkness.

Buffy ripped herself out of the dream, yelling out.

“It’s okay Buffy” Faith whispered into her ear as she pulled Buffy into her arms. Buffy clung to Faith’s shirt as she cried again.

“I… I can’t han… handle this. How d… do I teach the…these girls to die?” she hiccupped into Faith’s shoulders as her sobs subsided.

“I promise I will help you through it, but you have to remain strong” Faith whispered to her, holding her tightly in her strong arms. Buffy relaxed inter her arms as her body calmed down.

“I got your shirt wet” she said as she pulled back to look into Faith’s eyes.

“You can get it wet anytime” Faith winked at her. They laughed half-heartedly as they just sat there, comforted by each other’s closeness. After a while Buffy softly removed herself from Faith’s arms.

“We have got to get this done” Buffy said as a steely reserve entered her eyes. Faith nodded as they stood up and walked into the clearing. Just before approaching the first body Buffy stopped and looked into Faith’s eyes.

“I will identify who they are. I want to know how they died and what their weakness were that caused them to lose” Buffy said without any emotion in her voice. Faith just silently nodded as Buffy took a deep breath and kneeled down to the first girl,

“Angela” she whispered as Faith started to look over the body.


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“Why was she with Buffy?” Kennedy seethed as Willow was walking into the main house.

“I don’t know” Willow replied, running a shaky hand through her hair. The surviving girl’s were head to toe bruised, cut, bleeding, torn, Willow’s head swam with the memories of fixing one wound just to find another

“How did they survive?” Willow thought as she went into the kitchen and started to make a cup of tea.

The sight of Lehana’s wounds made her knees want to buckle. Willow had the girls take Dawn away from the infirmary while they looked over Lehana. Willow felt like throwing up as they covered on infected wound after another, along with internal bleeding signs that resulted in Michelle and her husband having to take Lehana into the operating room.

Kennedy was standing behind Willow, waiting for her girlfriend to give her a straight answer. Willow sensed Kennedy’s agitation.

“Ken honey, Faith is trying to help us, from what Buffy told me” she said, rubbing her face in exhaustion. She felt so old.

“She doesn’t feel right” Kennedy said as she put her hands on Willow’s shoulders, forcing her to face her.

“Because she is a couple billion years old” Willow said as she leaned forward, resting her head on Kennedy’s shoulder.

Kenney stood there holding her girlfriend.

“Things are getting worse” she said finally. Willow just sighed as the shrill from the tea filled the room.

“We have prophecies, bits of prophecies, girls pouring in from over the world which leaves us in both at an advantage and disadvantage. A 5 billion year old demon that looks as young as 21 years old, but is strong as hell and another demon almost as old as Faith trying to kill us all. Yes I think things are getting worse” Willow said as she turned off the heat to the tea, pouring herself a cup as steam rose from the hot liquid.


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Helena walked into her barrack, handing Dawn some hot chocolate as she sat next to the sobbing girl.

“Why couldn’t I just stay with her” Dawn sobbed as Helena rubbed her back.

“Is she your girlfriend?” she asked as Dawn sniffled, taking a sip of the chocolate.

“No, but she is the only person that knows that I am bisexual. She helped me understand things better, she is my best friend. She said that she would come back from Africa all safe and sound just to prove I had nothing to worry about” Dawn said as Helena took the chocolate from her shaking hands.

“Before she fells asleep she said I told you so” Dawn sobbed as Helena hugged her, stroking her hair. Helena hummed a little before singing softly

“When you get caught in the rain with no where to run
When you're distraught and in pain without anyone
When you keep crying out to be saved
But nobody comes and you feel so far away
That you just can't find your way home
You can get there alone
It's okay, what you say is

I can make it through the rain
I can stand up once again on my own

And I know that I'm strong enough to mend
And every time I feel afraid I hold tighter to my faith
And I live one more day and I make it through the rain
And if you keep falling down don't you dare give in
You will arise safe and sound, so keep pressing on steadfastly
And you'll find what you need to prevail
What you say is” Dawn leaned back looked into her eyes, wiping the tears off out of her eyes.

Helena smiled softly at her,

”I can make it through the rain
I can stand up once again on my own
And I know that I'm strong enough to mend
And every time I feel afraid I hold tighter to my faith
And I live one more day and I make it through the rain

And when the rain blows, as shadows grow close don't be afraid
There's nothing you can't face
And should they tell you you'll never pull through
Don't hesitate, stand tall and say

I can make it through the rain
And I live once again
And I live one more day
And I can make it through the rain
You will make it through the rain”

Helena finished softly as fresh tears flowed down Dawn’s face. Helena softly wiped them away.

“My mother started singing that song to me when it came out. It always made me feel better” she whispered, her face heating with the blush that crawled from her neck up to her cheeks.

“You have a very beautiful voice” Dawn smiled at her, looking down at her hands in her lap. Helena slid closer next to her, as Dawn laid down, putting her head on Helena’s lap.

“Shusssh mujer bonita and just rest, everything will work out” she whispered as she stroked Dawn’s hair, humming as Dawn drifted off into sleep.

Helena leaned against the wall, closing her eyes as she followed Dawn into oblivion.


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Willow and Kennedy sat on the couch in the living room in silence, reflecting on everything that has been happening. Kennedy just couldn’t believe what was going on.

“I knew them” she said after a while, her voice despondent. Willow looked at her,

“We all knew them Kennedy” she said.

“I know but, there were over a hundred girls at that base and only six made it” she said as the tears finally sprung to her eyes. Willow held her lover as she finally let everything out. After a few minutes Kennedy pulled herself together.

“Sorry” she said as she wiped her eyes.

“Don’t be you don’t always have to be the strong one” she whispered to her as she kissed her softly.

They sat there, touching foreheads, when a loud knocking came from the door. Kennedy and Willow looked at each other in confusion as they went to the door. Willow pulled it open and gasped as she took in the battered people in front of her, one of them half holding, half dragging a person next to him. The person looked up, his blue eyes reflecting in the soft light of the house.


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Buffy leaned into Faith’s side as they walked back to the campsite. They got through fifty girls before the sun started to set in the horizon. They were covered in dirt from shifting the bodies in the now caked ground as dried blood clung to their clothes.

They just sat down in silence, Buffy just going straight to her sleeping bag. Faith sat down as she started up the fire. They stayed in silence as Buffy shifted around trying to get comfortable. Finally she settled down, letting out a sigh as she stared up at the sky. Faith watched her from her seat next to the tree, her arms resting on her knees.

Buffy sighed heavily again as she started to toss again, unable to grasp sleep. Faith finally crawled over to her and laid down next to her, drawing her into her arms.

Buffy smiled at her as she settled against Faith’s body, her head resting in the crook of her neck. Buffy drifted into sleep, unburdened by nightmares as the safe feeling of being in Faith’s arms enveloped her. Images of the dead girl’s vanished from her mind as she drifted into the darkness.

Faith laid there, reveling in the feeling of the small slayer curled in her arms. She looked up at the sky, the whispers of the world echoed, drifting to her ears as the earth told her its secrets. Faith sighed as she knew worse things were yet to come as the end of days crept slowly to them one day at a time, ever silent ever deadly.


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a/n: sorry its so short and sorry it took so long college life has kept me real busy. Hope you like this sorry I feel like this is crap but I was blocked for a while…anyways review love you kisses hugs I don’t own the song that is By Mariah Carey “Through the Rain”