Watchers Retreat: Part 3

Willow wanted to go. Fortunately Dawn had already left for school or Buffy figured she'd have to argue with her too. Buffy shook her head. "No."

"Buffy, if Giles is in danger, I want to help."

Buffy shook her head again. "I need you here to take care of Dawn."

"Buffy."

"Willow, I don't want to hurt your feelings but if you come, you'll be one more person I need to watch out for. If you were still doing magic I'd throw you in the car, but you're not, and you can't. So, stay here, and take care of Dawn. I need to know she'll be okay. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Without another word Buffy ran upstairs to change and pull some supplies together. Willow frowned and picked up the phone.

***

By the time Buffy was getting ready to load up her car Xander had already arrived. Buffy glared at him. "Xander, you're not going either."

"Yes, I am. My truck's new, it'll make the drive faster, and I drive much better than you do. If we actually have to do some four wheeling you need me." He threw out his ace in the hole. "Plus I've been up that way before."

Buffy shook her head. "No."

Xander pointed to the car. "I've already got the truck ready to go. Willow's loaded a cooler; I already took the first aid kit from your car. I've got weapons and flashlights. Stop wasting time arguing." He reached for her weapons bag and couldn't even lift it. Grinning sheepishly he let it go. "Okay, you carry that one."

"Xander, I have no idea what we're going up against."

"All the more reason to have some backup. I can always go for more help. If I drive, you can nap, so you'll be good to go when we get there. I can do the manly thing and drive, and you can do the girly thing and ask for directions if we get lost."

"What about work?"

"I called in. Family emergency." He tapped his watch. "We're wasting time."

Buffy let out a long breath. She turned to the house and glared at Willow. Then she ran to her and gave her a hug. "You'll watch out for Dawn?"

Willow nodded. "Just bring Giles back alive, okay?"

Buffy nodded and running back to her bag she hoisted it up and threw it in the back of Xander's truck. "Let's go."

Xander grinned, clapping his hands together. "Woohoo, road trip."

Buffy looked at her watch. It was nine o'clock.

***

Maddy appointed herself in charge of looking after the man who was looking out for all of them. She brought Giles some food and she made him eat it. Then she ordered him to take a nap. Giles protested. "Maddy, there's too much to do."

"Rupert. The work is getting done. And everyone has had a chance to sleep except you. You'll be no good to us dead on your feet." She pointed to his tent. "Go, it will be dark in a couple of hours. I'll wake you."

Giles was suddenly so tired he wasn't even sure he could make it to his tent. He gave Maddy a bleary smile and forced his legs to make the trip before giving out. When he reached his tent he lay down on his sleeping bag and was asleep before his head hit the ground.

***

Buffy thought she'd go insane. She was very glad Xander was driving. With the energy building inside of her she'd have been ricocheting off the other cars. Even though she'd lived here all her life, somehow she had never appreciated just how big this damn state was.

When they finally passed the city limit sign for Weaverville Buffy let out an enormous sigh. "Finally." She looked at her watch. Seven o'clock. It had taken them exactly ten hours, and that was driving way past the speed limit and only stopping long enough for bathroom breaks. Ten hours. That left them with only about two hours of light. The little sliver of moon wasn't going to provide any assistance tonight. As they drove into Weaverville, Buffy let out a sound of dismay. "What…does everyone just go to bed by eight?"

The town looked closed. All the stores were closed, and there was no one walking around. Xander was looking too. "Man, this place is dead." He grimaced at his choice of words. Xander kept on driving. "There's gotta be a bar. Every town in California has a bar. It's like a law."

They found it right at the outskirts of town. When they went inside, Buffy found another reason to be glad Xander was with her. All the guys in the place were looking at her like she was the first woman they'd seen in a long time. Not that she couldn't have fought off any of these losers, but she didn't have the time. She went right up to the bar. "I'm looking for a big group of people. They came up here a few days ago to go camping. Did you see them? Do you know where they are?"

The bartender shook his head. "Nope."

Buffy looked at the man sitting next to her. "Did you see them?" She turned around and raised her voice, trying to get everyone's attention. "Did any of you see them?" They all ignored her. She walked to the jukebox and pulled it away from the wall, unplugging it. That did get everyone's attention.

Someone yelled from the back corner. "Hey, bitch, that was my quarter."

Buffy glared at him. "I'm looking for a group of people, like a few hundred of them. I know they were headed this way. I need to know where they are. Did anyone see them?" All Buffy saw was shaking heads. She felt like ripping a few of them off. "No one? What, were you all too drunk to notice?"

Xander touched her arm. "Uh, Buffy? Not sure that's gonna help."

Buffy counted to ten. Suddenly a man came out of the restroom. She walked over to him. "I need some help."

The man gave her the once over. "I'll be glad to help you, darlin'."

Buffy rolled her eyes. She spoke slowly as if speaking to an idiot. "I'm looking for a group of people. Camping. Big group. They may be in trouble."

The man glanced up at Xander, who had moved to stand behind Buffy, and let out a disappointed sigh. Then he pointed down the hallway. "There's a guy in the office. He showed up a while ago yelling for help. Maybe he knows something." He grinned. "Not much help to be had around these parts." He gave Buffy a look from her head to her toes that let her know that there was one particular kind of help he'd be glad to lend her. "I let him use the phone."

Buffy let out a noise of disgust and then turned to head down the hall. The man watched her backside and sighed again. Then he put his hand in his pocket and fingered the money the man had given him. A hundred dollars, to use the damn phone. He'd have let him use the phone for ten but he certainly wasn't going to argue with a man who felt like giving away his money.

Buffy slammed into the office. The man on the phone looked up, alarmed. When he realized he wasn't in any immediate danger he held up his hand and started to talk again. "Weaverville. We'll need emergency equipment. There were 22 wounded when I left, and there may be more now." He listened for a minute. "Yes, helicopters, and emergency vehicles that can make it up the mountain. Whatever can get here the fastest. The road to the camp is about three miles past the city. You can't miss it."

The man ran a hand through his hair. When he spoke again, his voice was thick. "No one's called in? No one?" His eyes filled with tears at the answer and his voice caught on a sob. "God." Buffy watched him as a tear made its way down his cheek while he listened to whoever he was speaking to. "Over two hundred." There was another pause and a nod. "Yes, we'll need several search and rescue teams, heavily armed. I'll call if I find out anything else, or if anyone else gets in." With that, he slowly hung up. Rubbing his hands down his face he pulled himself together. "I'm sorry, did you need to use the phone?"

"Are you a Watcher?"

His eyes opened wide. "Yes? How did you…?"

"I'm looking for Rupert Giles. Is he here? Is he okay? Over two hundred what?" Buffy was afraid she might throw up; her stomach was in such knots.

"Rupert?" Wendell was so tired. Nothing seemed to be making sense. "Who are you?"

"I'm Buffy. Is he okay?" Her voice was getting louder.

"Buffy? His Slayer?" At her nod, Wendell sat down. "I don't bloody believe it." Then before Buffy could say another thing he was up and heading for the door. "You have a four wheel drive here?"

Xander nodded.

"Come on. We can talk on the way."

Buffy grabbed his arm. "Is he alive?"

When Wendell hesitated Buffy felt something start to die inside of her. But then he spoke. "He was." He looked at his watch. "He was, six hours ago when I left."

"What do you mean was? Was he injured?"

Wendell shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I'm tired and I know I'm not making much sense. I'll tell you anything you want to know but we need to get up there."

Buffy let go of him and the three of them sprinted for Xander's car. As he backed out of his parking space Xander asked for directions. Wendell pointed to the right. Xander looked back at him. "Is he close?"

"No. It took us six hours to drive up there the other day. I'm hoping if you're up to driving like a bat out of hell we can get there faster."

Xander put on his seatbelt and made everyone else buckle up as well. "One bat comin' up."

Buffy looked at Wendell and gestured towards Xander. "This is Xander, by the way."

Wendell smiled tiredly. "Hello, Xander. I'm Wendell." He looked at Buffy. "I don't understand how you can possibly be here."

Buffy's lips tightened. "There's this bar in town, a place demons go. The guy who owns it is a human. I was out running this morning and ran into him. He told me." Buffy didn't mention anything about Spike, or about the fact that she could have known a week ago. That would be a private confession to Giles if…no, when she found him.

Buffy suddenly found herself feeling terrifyingly alive. This entire last year had been lived in a muted haze. Nothing really made an impact. She'd come close to dying a dozen times and hadn't really cared. She found herself not really loving anyone, especially herself. All she did was exist. But right now, she was wide-awake. And she cared so much she thought it might tear her apart. Buffy put her hand out to brace herself as Xander took the left hand turn Wendell indicated. Then she braced herself as Xander came to a screeching halt at Wendell's command.

Wendell was out of the car in a moment, Buffy right behind him. "What are we doing?" Then she saw them. A man and a woman.

Wendell yelled. "Sarah, Doug?"

They saw him and they whooped and started running, the man clearly lagging behind and in some pain. Wendell and Buffy met them half way. The woman had tears running down her face. "Oh, God, did you see them all?" She bit back a sob.

Wendell closed his eyes. "I tried not to look."

Buffy glanced at them both. "What happened?"

Wendell introduced her. "This is Buffy, Rupert's Slayer."

Sarah's eyes opened wide. "Get her up there. Don't waste time talking to me. They could all be dead by the time you get up there. All of them." Her voice had a touch of hysteria to it. "There were so many of them."

Buffy just wanted somebody to tell her something. "So many what?"

"Bodies. They're everywhere." She looked at Buffy. "Go."

Wendell agreed. He pointed back down the road. "There's a bar about three miles down the road. I already called the Council and they're sending help. I spent almost an hour trying to get some help from around here before I realized that was a lost cause. I should have just called the Council right way. The Special Ops team can get this organized more quickly and effectively than I ever could." He reached out and touched Sarah's shoulder. "No one's called in. I think we're the only ones who made it down." His voice grew thick.

Sarah broke down and turned to hug her husband, crying against his chest. He had tears running down his own face. "No one's called in?"

Wendell shook his head. "We'll go back and do what we can. Call the Council; let them know you're all right. Let them know you can organize efforts down here."

Sarah pulled away from her husband and gave Wendell a hug. "Be careful." She looked at him as if she might never see him again. Then she looked at Buffy. "Go get your Watcher. Most of us still living are alive because of him."

Without another word Buffy and Wendell ran back to the truck. Sarah and Doug continued making their way to the road.

When they got back in the car, Xander gunned it again. He wanted to take advantage of the remaining sunlight. Buffy fought against her own rising panic and looked back at Wendell. "How many Watchers came to this?"

"Over three hundred."

"How many are still alive? That you know are still alive."

"If you count me, Sarah and Doug, about sixty-five."

Xander's eyes opened wide. "Holy shit. That's all?"

Buffy did the math. "So almost two hundred and forty Watchers died last night?" Buffy couldn't believe it. "How many didn't come to this retreat?"

"Just a handful. They'd never had such an attendance at a retreat before."

Buffy filled Wendell in on the demon behind this attack. How the whole thing had been planned for years. Wendell shook his head. "How is it possible? How could a demon plan this?"

Buffy shook her head. Xander offered a suggestion. "Maybe he can look human. Maybe he works at the Council."

Wendell ran his hand over his face. Buffy looked at him. "When's the last time you slept?"

Wendell tried to figure it out. "About thirty-six hours ago."

She pointed to a cooler. "There's food and water in there." Wendell's eyes lit up for a brief second and he opened it up. He pulled out a sandwich and unwrapped it. Buffy asked another question. "So Giles wasn't hurt?"

"Giles? Oh, you mean Rupert?" At her nod he shook his head. "No. In fact none of us who were with him when the creatures struck were hurt. He kept us all calm and wouldn't let any of us run off. That's when the creatures killed everybody, when they were running and alone."

Xander smiled briefly. "Sounds like Giles. Mr. Let's Be Calm About This."

Buffy smiled tightly in return. "Yeah, he's Mr. Calm Guy, let's think about this before we go do anything rash." She tapped herself on the chest. "I'm the rash part." She grimaced. "I mean, not really a rash, but, you know, being rash, doing the not be calm thing."

Wendell couldn't help but grin at her. "I get it." The grin didn't last long. Neither did his appetite. He finished half the sandwich and then it started sticking in his throat as he thought about what had happened. He rewrapped it and laid it on the seat next to him.

Buffy's eyes filled with tears just looking at him. Her voice was shaky. "I'm sorry."

Wendell nodded tightly, without responding.

"He's really all right?" Buffy felt she had to ask again.

He nodded again but then he looked at his watch and his lips tightened. "Buffy, if they attack as soon as it's dark, we won't be up there in time."

Buffy felt the sting of tears. "We'll get there in time. We have to."

"They killed over two hundred of us last night. All he has left is sixty of us now, and a third of those are injured. He's the only one who brought weapons." His voice got loud, as if now that he was finally speaking of his fears, that it was essential that he get his point across. "One sword. One crossbow. Forty Watchers, most of whom have only picked up a weapon in class."

Buffy's eyes grew dark, her voice mutinous. "We'll get there in time. He's not going to die."

"If any of them run, they'll die. How can he keep them all from running? You haven't heard their cries, you don't know what it does to you." He covered his face with his hands. His whole body was shaking.

Buffy didn't know what to say to him, how to console him, how to reassure him, not when she was in such desperate need of reassurance herself. His words had filled her with dread. If they'd managed to kill 240 in one night, how could forty hope to last? Buffy wished she could make this car fly. Xander was already driving so fast Buffy didn't dare ask him to go any faster.

Xander couldn't stand the tension in the car or in his own gut. He spoke without thinking. "Hey, Buffy's died twice, and she made it okay."

The ludicrousness of the sentence got Wendell's attention. He looked up from his hands. "What?"

Xander repeated himself. "Buffy's died twice, and she's okay. Giles will be okay too. We've all almost died so many times you wouldn't believe it. That's our specialty. Us and Giles. Almost dying, but then not. Except for Buffy. She dies every now and then." He stopped speaking, as he had to concentrate getting around a hairpin curve.

Wendell looked at Buffy. "You've died twice. Really died?"

Buffy nodded. "The first time was when I went up against this vampire called the Master. He drowned me." She pointed at Xander. "He found me and did CPR. That's when the second Slayer got called."

"And the second time?"

Xander frowned. "Don't you guys know this stuff? Don't you keep up on what's going on with the Slayers?"

Wendell sighed. "It's become astonishingly clear just how much 'stuff' we don't know. It's appalling."

Xander agreed, his voice harsh. "You're supposed to be about the Slayer. How can you not know she died? She was dead for three months. Giles left, went back to England." He was furious. "How can you not know that?"

Wendell had no defense. He looked back at Buffy. "Three months? How are you alive?"

Xander was on a roll speaking his mind. "That would be me too. Me and Buffy's other three friends. We did a spell. Ripped her right out of heaven."

Buffy turned to Xander. "Xander."

"We've never even talked about it, Buffy. Except for you thanking us oh so graciously when you probably wanted to tear our heads off. And then our feeble apologies when we found out what we did." Xander wiped at his eyes.

Buffy let out a sad sound. "Don't you start crying. You need to drive." She put a hand on his arm. "It's all right."

"It's not all right. We ruined your life. I'm supposed to be your best friend and all I did was ruin your life."

"You didn't know." Xander chose not to respond. She spoke more insistently. "You didn't know."

"We should have figured it out. We should have talked to Giles first."

Buffy let out a sigh. She had so often wished they had. Giles would never have let them do the spell. Then she connected the dots. "Look, if you'd talked to Giles, he wouldn't have let you do the spell, but then he'd still be here at this retreat, and he wouldn't have us coming to rescue him."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Is that logic supposed to make me feel better?"

"I'll make a deal with you. If you get me up there in time so we can rescue Giles, I'll be so glad I'm alive I'll get down on my knees and thank you for bringing me back. Okay? Do we have a deal?" Buffy could barely talk for the lump in her throat.

Xander glanced quickly at her. "Deal." He put his eyes back on the road and sped up.

Wendell was staring at the both of them. "He told us so many stories last night and they seemed so unbelievable." He shook his head. "Three months. You were dead for three months?"

Buffy nodded. "I woke up in my coffin. That was not fun." She glanced at Xander. "Sorry, Xander."

"Don't bother me, I'm driving."

She glanced at him to make sure he wasn't upset. She saw the intense concentration on his face and she relaxed.

Wendell was still staring at her. "No wonder he loves you so much."

She stared at him. "What?"

"Rupert. Every story he told, it was so clear how proud of you he was, and how much he loved you, and how much he hated that you'd, well, that he wasn't your Watcher anymore."

Buffy unsuccessfully fought back tears. She brushed them away. "He's my Watcher. He'll always be my Watcher."

Wendell smiled softly at her. "I believe that. And you know what else?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, what?"

"I'm beginning to think that we might just get to them in time."

End of Part 3