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“Mine,” Xander said, coming up behind her.
“Well, then remind me not to listen to you anymore.” Willow groaned
and sank gratefully onto a half rotted tree stump. “Hiking is not my thing,”
she said, unconsciously mimicking her friend Buffy’s tone.
“Yeah, well, you didn’t have to come along.”
“What, and leave my best friend alone to die in the woods? I figured
someone’s got to be here to get you out of this alive.”
“Ha ha,” Xander said blandly. “Well, while you plan your victory parade
I’ll go find us some more water. Our supply is getting a little dry.”
“Okay,” Willow said cheerily, the thought of the cool water overriding her persistent irritation. “Do you think you could get a little extra? It doesn’t have to be drinkable or anything. I just want something to cool off with.”
Xander nodded and bowed deeply. “At your service, madam. You know, you’d think with all this shade it might be a little cooler. It feels like the middle of summer.”
“Uh, Xander,” Willow said quietly.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing. Weren’t you going to get some water?”
Xander scanned her face for some hidden joke, then, finding none, nodded
and headed off on his own. Willow sighed, mopping sweat off her brow, and
looked up into the late-July sun.
Xander whistled cheerfully to himself as he made his way through the thick foliage. He thought he had heard the familiar sound of running water, but after a valiant fifteen minute search, he had still found nothing. He frowned slightly, but did not allow the disappointment spoil his mood. Instead he whistled tunelessly and made one last circuit of the area before striking out for new clearing.
At last he heard the faint rushing of water, and cocked his head to try to locate the sound. It seemed to be coming from his left. He glanced over his right shoulder toward the clearing where Willow waited, and considered whether he should get her first. He remembered how exhausted she looked, and hot, and shook his head, deciding against it. He turned to his left and increased his speed to a near-jog.
He came to a skidding halt as the brook came in sight. He glanced briefly around the small clearing for company, but he appeared to be alone. Xander eased forward into the clearing, doubt gnawing at his bones with every step. Something was wrong here. He could feel it in his very teeth. “Oh, come on Xander, you scaredy-cat,” he muttered to himself, and walked briskly to the brook. He knelt down and dipped his hand into the water, expecting to feel the bite of crisp, cold water. Instead, the water burned at the touch, and he snapped his hand back, cursing in surprise and pain. “What the-“ His voice faded into nothing as he looked closer into the water’s depth. It was boiling.
“Oh hey, this isn’t funny,” Xander said, backing away. “What are we, on a friggin’ volcano or something?” He leaned forward, sniffing the water, his old science lessons about volcanoes and sulfur suddenly coming back in a flood. He shook his head and turned his back on the strange brook, fighting the urge to break into a run. “Something is definitely wrong here,” he muttered with new-felt fear.
“Willow!” he shouted. “Hey, Willow!” The woods were silent. Xander swore under his breath and started to trot. His unease continued to grow. “Willow!” he shouted again, his tone desperate. “Come on Will, answer me!” There was still now answer. Xander spun around and tried to find some recognition in the trees and foliage around him. Nothing looked familiar.
He was lost. Somehow, this thought did not surprise him. He had felt uneasy since he had first heard the sounds of the brook, and now he was caught in the grip of outright terror. “WILLOW!” he shouted with all he could manage. “Come on! I can’t find my way back!” He was bombarded with silence. “Okay, Xander, get a grip. Just breathe.”
He found it very difficult to follow his own orders, though, and felt the grip of panic growing ever stronger. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the sound of his pounding heart. “Okay,” he whispered. “What would Buffy do?”
“Why don’t you just ask her?”
Xander’s head perked up at the sound of this new voice. At first, he thought it was just a figment of his imagination, then he felt a clammy hand on the base of his neck. He whirled around to face the new arrival. His eyes widened as his eyes fell upon the girl standing before him. “Willow?” he breathed, his tone a mixture of relief and exasperation. “Where were you? I was calling you for-“
“Ssh,” Willow said, reaching up to brush her finger against his lips. “Stop babbling,” she ordered.
“Yes ma’am,” Xander cracked, expecting a grin from his friend.
Willow was not willing to comply. She fixed Xander with a appraising stare and scanned his face and body for--- something. Xander felt suddenly uncomfortable, and also somewhat intoxicated, under her scrutiny.“I guess you’ll do,” she muttered. She placed a hand on his upper thigh and smiled crookedly. “You don’t seem to be lacking in this department,” she said, and mover her hand in a slight upward direction.
Xander followed her eyes down, and his eyes widened in horror as he realized his condition. A slow blush crept up his face, and he averted his eyes, completely mortified. He could not remember a time he had been more embarrassed. She was, after all, his best friend. Willow turned and headed in another direction, and Xander followed silently after. After about a hundred step he finally mustered the courage to speak again. “Are you okay, Willow?” he asked hesitantly.
“What do you mean?” Willow asked.
“Well, you just seem… different. Nothing happened while I was gone, did it?”
“Of course not, silly,” Willow said with a laugh. “Why would you think that?”
Xander watched as she took off again. There was something definitely different about his friend, but he could not seem to place it. He shook his head and hurried to catch up to her. Almost a quarter hour had passed by the time he realized they were heading in the wrong direction. “Uh, Willow,” he said slowly. She stopped on the trail in front of him, but left her back turned to him. “Aren’t we going the wrong way?”
“No,” Willow said firmly and started forward again. Xander sighed in frustration and found himself following after again. Soon they came to another clearing and Xander could not stop himself in time before crashing into Willow’s back. She spun around, irritation flashing in his eyes.
“Jeez, Will, it was just an accident,” Xander said.
“Well maybe you ought to watch where you’re going.” She turned her back on him and settled herself comfortably on the ground. “We’re going to stop here for a minute.”
“Oh, sure fine, whatever you say,” Xander said irritably, and removed his pack. He glanced over at Willow, the difference he noticed in her still gnawing at the back of his mind. Willow sat up suddenly, disturbing a number of leaves and small insects with the sudden movement. Xander felt his skin craw slightly at the wild look in her eyes. He looked away uncomfortably. Then it hit him.
Willow opened her eyes slowly. Something seemed different about her surroundings. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and glanced around the dimly lighted room. Room. She was supposed to be hiking. She looked more furtively around the room and realized with horror that she was tied to the bed she laid upon. She pulled helplessly at the restraints, but of course they did not budge.
The room was suddenly flooded with light and Willow had to blink several times before seeing who had joined her in the small, but serviceable, prison. “Oh, good, your awake. I was hoping you wouldn’t be out for long.”
“How long is long?” Willow asked, eyeing the woman warily.
“Only a few minutes. We dragged you here about half an hour ago. We didn’t plan to drug you, but we didn’t want to alert the other.”
“The other?” Willow asked, momentarily confused. “Oh, you mean—“ She cut the sentence off abruptly, silently cursing her stupidity.
“Xander,” the woman finished for her. “That’s right. Ramona is bringing him now.”
“Ramona?” Willow asked, her disorientation growing. “Who-“
“That’s none of your affair,” the woman said sharply. “I am Phrenia and the young woman who knocked you out is my sister Kalandra. Anything else you feel you need to know you’ll have to uncover on your own, because that is all the information I am offering. I suppose some of the other girls might give you their names, but I wouldn’t go digging for anymore information. That can lead to disastrous results,” she said with tinge of regret.
Willow could only watched in muddled shock and confusion as Phrenia turned and exited the room, the door swinging silently shut behind her. She struggled briefly with her restraints, then heaved a great sigh and fell back on the bed. Her thoughts drifted to Xander.
“You’re not Willow,” Xander whispered, seeing for the first time who she really was. “How did you-“
“It’s an old trick,” Ramona responded, tipping him a wink. “There’s a lot of things I can do. Come on, I want to introduce you to my sisters.”
“Wait a minute!” Xander called, hurrying after. “I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me what’s going on here. What happened to Willow?”
“Oh, you mean the red-headed girl? We’ve got her at the compound already.”
“The compound?”
“That’s right, smartie. The compound,” she drawled slowly. “You know, a place where you—“
“I know what a compound is!” Xander snapped, and found himself being
dragged by the strange girl again. “Is that where you’re taking me?”
“Aha! The genius strikes again!” Ramona cried, then stepped into yet
another clearing. Xander blinked in surprise and stepped after her. When
his foot fell past the trunk of the last tree, the world shifted on him.
He stumbled forward, and was caught only just in time by the girl in front
of him. “Oh, and you’re graceful too!” she said in mock delight. “Why do
I always get the brilliant ones?” she asked no one in particular.
“You know,” Xander mumbled, struggling to maintain at least a semblance of control, “you really should try being a little nicer.”
“Oh, but why?” Ramona asked innocently. “Tormenting you is so much fun.” She hurried forward to the massive set of buildings before them, leaving Xander to contemplate his surroundings.
His first goal after she left was to catch his breath. It was just… amazing. Just one step had changed everything. The sky, brilliantly clear and sunny only a moment before, was now overcast and the faint glow from the occasional flash of lightning cast dark shadows in the surrounding forest. The compound looming before Xander bore more resemblance to a palace than any compound he had seen. No, not a castle, he amended mentally, but a castle. It was far too dark to be categorized as a palace.
“Depressing much?” he asked casually as he caught up to Ramona.
“Willow, get up,” Phrenia ordered sharply, and the red-haired girl bolted upright in her bed. “That’s a good girl,” Phrenia muttered and crossed over to stand over the foot of the bed. She carelessly tossed the small pile of clothes at the semi-conscious girl. “Get dressed,” she said sternly. “And meet us outside when you are done.” With that, she left.
Willow sighed after the young woman left. She had thought at first that she must have dreamed the entire awful experience, but then the woman, Phrenia, had returned, barking more orders. This, on top of the fact that there had still been no word on Xander, was casting a miserable cloud over her day. She groaned as she realized she had another twelve hours to endure before freedom from another day.
Willow hurriedly threw her clothes, which consisted of a loosely fitting, ankle-length white gown, on and rushed out to greet Phrenia and her “sisters” as she referred to them.
“What took you so long?” Phrenia demanded as Willow stepped into the room.
“I’m sorry,” Willow apologized, brushing her long hair behind her shoulder.
“I’m just a little slow in waking up.”
“Well, you need to work on that. Do you need a brush?” Phrenia asked,
her voice becoming strangely gentle.
“Oh, yeah, sure,” Willow said quietly. “Thanks.”
Phrenia nodded distractedly and crossed to the room to stand behind Willow. She lightly stroked the back of Willow’s hair, a small smile lighting across her face. “You have beautiful hair,” she complimented her. Willow felt a light tug at her hair, and realized with some surprise that the young woman was combing through her hair with a thick-handled brush. Oddly enough, Willow had not seen the woman with a brush earlier, and there was certainly no room for it in the pocket-less gowns that they both wore. She decided it would be wisest if she didn’t comment, so remained silent as Phrenia continued to brush her hair.
“So, Willow,” Phrenia said quietly after a long moment. “I didn’t have much time yesterday to acquaint you with my sisters. I’m afraid our search for your friend took precedence over the day.”
“No, and I’m still worried about Xander,” Willow blurted out. “I mean, why hasn’t he found this place yet? It’s huge.” Phrenia did not respond, so Willow decided to try another tactic to bring her out. “How many sisters do you have anyway? I think you introduced me to about a dozen yesterday. You must have a very big family.”
“I have dozens of sisters,” Phrenia said simply. “You’ll get to know each one over time. Trust me, you’ll have plenty of it.”
“What are you talking about?” Willow asked meekly. “I’m only staying here long enough to find Xander and—“
“Do you really want to know?” Phrenia interrupted.
“Want to know what?” Willow asked, confused.
“Do you want to know?” Phrenia repeated, softly. Their eyes locked,
and Willow suddenly felt herself struggling to pull herself out of the
depth of the woman’s dark eyes. Phrenia leaned forward and whispered gently
into Willow’s ear. “Do you want to know our secrets?”
Fan Fiction Chamber