Watchers Retreat: Part 5

Giles approached him cautiously. "What's your name?"

"Tom."

Giles spoke loud enough for everyone to hear him. "Does anyone here know Tom?"

Several people spoke up. Giles focused in on Daniel. "Most of us know him. He organized this retreat."

A nameless dread started to form in Giles' gut. "He is a Watcher, then?"

Giles saw Daniel nod. "Of course. He's been a Watcher for as long as I've been one."

Another man spoke. "We were in training together."

On the face of things, Giles might have let it drop. But his sense of dread continued unabated. And he was starting to be aware of something. As he tried to look at the man, Giles found it difficult to stay focused. He found his eyes sliding off of Tom and getting caught up in what was next to him, or behind him. Giles had to constantly work to keep his attention directly on him. He looked around and noticed that most of the Watchers weren't even paying attention anymore, when a few moments before all their eyes had been glued to Tom.

Giles tried to sense if there was magic at work, but he couldn't be sure. His inability to determine the use of magic left him with another possibility to rule out; Tom might not be human. And while there were some demons that had human blood, there were many who didn't. Giles reached into his pocket and pulled out a small knife that he then opened. "Tom, I hate to ask you this, but I need you to hold out your arm and let me knick you."

Tom moved away. "What the hell do you need to do that for?" He glanced over the crowd. "He's gone round the bend. One of those monsters has got in his head or something."

That got everyone's attention again. No one was prepared to take Giles on, or doubt him, but there was some muttering in the crowd. Giles tried again. "Just a small cut. I'll do the same to myself. In fact, I'll do it first." Giles made a quick cut across his forearm, just deep enough for blood to well. "That's all."

Tom shook his head again. "You just keep away from me." His voice got loud. "It's not bad enough we have to deal with monsters, you have to start threatening us too?"

"I think you're protesting too much. I think you would let me cut you if you had nothing to hide." Giles looked to the side and gestured to Daniel and Steven. "Please hold him." As they started to move in Tom's direction, Tom started to edge his way to the border of the clearing. Giles tried again. "You'll get my full apology if my suspicions are ungrounded."

Tom had reached the end of the clearing and he stopped. His eyes glittered; his stance unfriendly, as he realized his charade was over. He pointed to the woman. "Is that how you found out? Did the bitch tell you?" He sent a malevolent look her way. Maria found herself taking a step closer to Giles.

Giles swallowed some bile. "You did what she said? You forced those two to run?"

Tom laughed. "I did a whole lot more than that." He glanced at the group watching him. "Soon, you'll all be dead." He pointed at the woman. "Including you."

Giles felt her press up against him. Giles had heard the words and heard the venom in Tom's voice but he wanted desperately to have misunderstood. "Pardon me?"

Tom snickered. "Polite to the last, aren't you? You heard me. You'll all be dead soon. Everyone of you."

Giles carefully put his knife away and then he reached back and drew his sword. He took a step towards Tom. "You did this? You arranged this?" His voice was soft but no one there mistook it for anything but deadly. "All these Watchers dead because of you? Why?"

"Because Watchers are vermin." He smiled, a feral smile. "I've been planning this for years, waiting, and hating. Living among you, pretending to be your friend. It made me sick. I swore revenge and now I'll have it." He grinned again. "So, tell me. If a Watcher's alone in the woods when his body is ripped open, does he make any noise?"

Giles started slowly moving towards Tom, his sword out in front of him. Everyone was mesmerized, watching this play out, watching this next surreal chapter to a weekend already too macabre for belief. Giles spit the words out. "What the hell are you?"

Tom stepped out of the clearing and he let his body change. His height didn't change but the rest of him morphed into something from hell. Cloven hooves, horns, red eyes, thickened skin. Tom, or whatever he was, laughed at them. "You'll all be dead, and then I'll find the rest. Anyone who made it to the bottom; they'll die first. Then I'll go after any of the Watchers who didn't come and join in the fun. I know where they all are, I know how to get to them. And with all of you dead, there'll be no one to warn them." He smiled at Giles, his mouth full of sharp teeth. "And then, just for fun, I think I'll go after that Slayer of yours."

Giles let out a cry of anguish and lunged for the demon. His movement was so fast the demon almost didn't move in time. But he did, shifting to the side, barely avoiding a sword through his chest. He grinned at Giles, taunting him. Then his eyes opened wide and he looked down at his stomach. A crossbow bolt was sticking out of him. Giles took instant advantage of the situation and raising his sword he swung out quickly from left to right, cutting the demon's head off.

Giles watched as the demon's death registered in its eyes, and then his head toppled to the ground, followed by his body. It seemed to fold in on itself, shrinking until nothing but a skeleton remained. Giles wished he could feel a moment of exhilaration at the demon's death but he couldn't seem to muster it. He just wanted to cry. All this death. Killing the demon didn't undo any of it.

Giles did glance at Maddy, and he managed to send her a brief smile. "Good shot."

Maddy shook her head. "I was aiming for his heart."

"It was enough." Giles pulled out his handkerchief and he wiped his sword off. Placing it back in its scabbard he threw the square of linen in the fire.

The woman was staring out into the woods. "Do you think maybe they'll go? Now that he's dead? Do you think it's over?"

Giles wanted to say yes with all of his heart. He indulged himself in a momentary fantasy of a hot cup of tea, and a few roasted marshmallows. But he'd already seen the movement in the woods again. Sighing, he pulled his sword back out. "No, it's not over." He spoke softly, hoping his voice would carry. "We don't know how much control he had over them. Be wary. Keep an eye on each other, make sure you're armed, but no one make any sudden movements."

He glanced at Daniel, who had moved next to him again. Then he looked at Maria, and the other Watchers who were around him. "And please, everyone stay a sword's length away from me. I'd hate to take anyone's head off accidentally. All right?"

They all hesitated, but then reluctantly moved a few steps away from him. Daniel was reluctant, because he was still in protect mode. The others, because they felt safer being close. Giles was again reminded of a classroom of children. He wished he were able to allay their fears.

Giles heard a yell, and he saw one of the Watchers pointing. He turned to find that at the edge of the clearing one of the creatures was visible now and it was truly horrific to behold. Then it emitted its cry. Giles could feel its pull, and he knew, beyond a doubt, that these creatures would never stop killing as long as there was fresh meat around. They had been created for this, to slaughter and consume until there was nothing left to kill.

Giles reached out a hand and pointed at the rocks. Several Watchers had claimed to have good throwing arms. They slowly reached the pile and began picking up rocks, loading their pockets, one kept in their hands, ready to throw at Giles' command.

The creature let out its cry again. No one ran. Somehow seeing the creature helped. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that being in the woods alone with that thing meant certain death. It drew closer. Giles watched it, trying to understand its behavior. It seemed confused. As if it could sense that its prey was near, but its prey wasn't behaving the way it ought.

Giles was afraid if it got close enough to sense exactly where they were that it would attack. Giles gestured to the rock throwers, and held up one finger, and then he touched his head.

A woman nodded. They had all decided before that she had the most accuracy. She let one fly and it hit the creature in the head. It let out a roar and backed away. Then it slowly advanced again. Giles held up one finger again, and touched himself on the chest. He wanted to see if the creature seemed more sensitive in any particular spot. The woman let fly again and again the creature retreated, but without the cry.

As it seemed to deliberate its next move, Giles looked around the clearing, frowning as he noticed that the Watchers assigned to keep guard around the rest of the perimeter were focused on the creature. As he was opening his mouth to remind them to stay alert he finished his visual sweep and his eyes opened in horror as he saw another creature almost on top of the wounded Watchers, right behind Maddy. He yelled out. "Maddy, down." Then he ran.

Maddy obeyed him and ducked, then screamed as she saw the creature out of the corner of her eye. Her movement saved her as the vicious claws raked through the air where her torso had been seconds ago. She stumbled, twisted, falling onto her back, the crossbow falling out of her hand. The creature reached out to deliver a second killing blow, one that took into account her position on the ground. Maddy tried to back up, crablike, but there were wounded behind her.

Then, suddenly, Giles was there slashing out with his sword. Giles plunged the sword into the creature's upper body, hoping to hit a vital organ. All it did was enrage it. It let out one of its cries and raked out again with its claws. Hearing the cry at such close quarters dazed Giles. Barely managing to keep his sword up, he at least managed to not get caught by its claws. Then, as his head cleared, he began to fight the thing.

He never got another chance at its body. All he could do was slash at its arms, but the cuts seemed to have no impact. Giles couldn't see any blood, or any indication that he was slowing it down. Giles heard Maddy load the crossbow behind him. Then he heard the snick of it being shot. The arrow landed in the creature's mouth.

The creature backed away, trying to get the bolt out, its claws ineffective for such a task. It retreated further. Maddy shot it again. This time it retreated until it was out of sight. Giles spun around to see what the other creature was doing. It was still in the clearing, still being deterred by the rocks being thrown. Then he checked the rest of the perimeter. He was glad to see the Watchers were back on guard.

Giles glanced at Maddy. "Once again, nice shot."

She sent him a fleeting grin. "Thanks for saving my life."

Giles nodded, smiling softly. "You're welcome." He found a more central location and spoke softly to them all, making sure everyone was still keeping guard. "Their mouths seem to be an area of weakness. Aim there." He pointed to where the creature he and Maddy had fought, had retreated. "That one knows we're here. I suspect it will be back to cause us problems." Gesturing to the one in the clearing he spoke again. "I don't believe this one has made its mind up yet. Let's try to keep it at a distance so it doesn't find out how close we are."

He found himself slipping into research mode. "Curious. Clearly they are capable of hunting prey and yet we seem to be confusing it. I believe that other one stumbled upon us by accident and because we weren't paying adequate attention. Perhaps there are too many of us for it to distinguish individual prey. Perhaps there are too many smells, too many distractions." Giles ran a hand down his jaw.

He heard a couple of gasps and then Maddy was pulling at his arm. "Less Einstein, more D'Artagnan."

He glanced up to see the creature coming back, the bolt now gone from its mouth. He sent Maddy a look. "I might suggest more Robin Hood."

Maddy's eyes widened and then she was loading a bolt and letting it fly. It hit the creature's mouth again but didn't take a good hold. One swipe from its claws dislodged it. Giles quickly glanced to make sure the creature in the clearing was being adequately held off, and that the Watchers on guard were keeping on eye out for the rest of the perimeter. All they needed was for another creature to stumble upon them.

Giles moved closer to the creature, not wanting the fighting to be so close to the wounded. Maddy let another bolt fly that struck the creature in its arm. It let out another bellow. Giles almost dropped his sword. "Good Lord." He shook his head to clear the dizziness. Then he let out a cry as he saw a Watcher start to run. Giles was too far away. Stabbing his sword into the ground he grabbed the crossbow from Maddy and shot the man in the leg. As he went down, Giles yelled for someone to go get him.

Giles handed the crossbow back to Maddy. "Here."

Maddy stared at him even as she was loading it up again. "You shot him."

"Oh, I do apologize. How thoughtless of me. Next time I'll let him keep running. Perhaps we can have a cup of tea while he's being eaten."

Maddy narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you always get sarcastic when something's trying to kill you?"

"Yes. Actually I'm fairly sarcastic a good deal of the time. Or so I've been told." He glanced around, noticing several other alarmed looks being cast his way. He glared at them. "I don't fancy anyone else getting eaten by these creatures. So, if you run, I'll shoot you. And I will try very hard not to kill you. But I make no promises." He glared again, taking in the Watcher with the bolt in his leg. "So, I suggest that you not run."

The Watcher was clearly in pain, but he mostly looked chagrined. "I'm sorry. I just lost it." He glanced up at Giles. "I never thought I'd appreciate getting shot, but thank you."

Giles smiled briefly, noted Celiane coming to assist, then turned back to the creature nearest him. Maddy sent another bolt into the creature. So far the bolts were keeping it from approaching too closely. She glanced up at him. "By the way, that was a nice shot."

"I've been shooting at running vampires, aiming for their hearts, for a long time. A leg is a much larger target."

Maddy loaded the bow again. "Rupert?"

"Yes?"

"We've already used a third of the bolts. At this rate they won't last very long."

Giles sighed. The mountain of rocks was fast disappearing as well. He looked at his watch. 11:30. They wouldn't last more than a couple of hours. Giles wished he knew if someone had made it down, if someone was coming to help them. Giles wished for so many things that his head ached. Once again he wished for Buffy. His eyes swept over the few remaining Watchers. He knew they were all depending on him and he questioned his ability to keep them alive.

He heard a yell and he looked up to find the first creature advancing, ignoring the rocks that bounced off its hide. Giles sent Maddy over to assist. The creature he was keeping an eye on was still a respectable distance away. But then, suddenly it wasn't. It moved so quickly Giles barely got his sword up in time. Again he found himself parrying with the monster, trying to keep its claws from gouging him. He heard people behind him and saw the rocks start to fly.

This creature was undeterred by the rocks. A Watcher darted forward and tried to stab the monster with a spear. Giles pulled his sword back so he didn't cut the Watcher by mistake. The creature screamed and attacked the man, sending him flying, his shoulder torn open. Giles cursed and lifted his sword again, standing in between the creature and the wounded Watcher. The creature bellowed again, frustrated at being kept from its prey.

It lashed out at Giles. He successfully avoided being torn open. Giles wondered how long his luck would hold, not to mention his stamina. He couldn't fight like this for long. The creature was too strong, and every blow against his sword hammered into Giles' body. Giles heard a cry but he couldn't afford to look at what was happening on the other side. He heard the snick of the bow and realized Maddy was back. The creature staggered back a few feet when it got hit in the mouth again. Giles spoke. "The other one?"

"It left. It never came in all the way. Maybe after enough arrows it decided it wasn't having a good time." She let out a cry as the creature unexpectedly lunged for Giles.

Giles got his sword up, but not in time. The creature was able to slash his forearm. Giles winced at the pain, and at the burning. He assumed the burning was from the toxin that was now in his body, that would now start infecting him. Switching his sword to his other hand he started fighting back ferociously.

***

Buffy almost screamed at the clock. 11:30. She turned to Wendell. "Why aren't we there? It's been four and a half hours. Shouldn't we be there? Are you sure this is the right way?"

Xander snorted. "Buffy, this is the only way. There haven't exactly been a lot of forks in the road with mountain on one side and cliff on the other."

Buffy let out a frustrated noise. Suddenly Wendell let out a cry. "This is it. We're here. I remember those rocks, they sort of look like a dinosaur."

Buffy sent him a look, but then his words sunk in. "We're here? Where are they?" She opened her window to listen.

"Keep driving. It shouldn't be far."

"I thought you said we were here." Buffy was beginning to feel like Xander's truck was another coffin. She had to get out.

"We are, but it's a big area. They're spread out all over the place. Our campsite was about a mile from here."

Xander kept driving, wondering if Buffy was just going to jump out the window. He swept around another corner and Buffy saw them. And she saw Giles, fighting with a creature, blood running down his arm. She was over the seat and practically crawling over Wendell to get to her weapons. Withdrawing a sword she opened the door. Xander slowed the truck down to come to a stop but Buffy didn't wait. She jumped and rolled and then was on her feet running as fast as she had ever run before.

***

Giles was fighting for his life, and he was fighting for the lives of everyone behind him. And he was terrified that he was losing. He had given up some ground. The creature was ignoring the rocks and the bolts, purely focusing on him, somehow recognizing that Giles was the obstacle keeping it from its food. Giles let out a cry as he felt a claw graze his shoulder. He knew he couldn't keep this up for much longer. But he also knew that if he couldn't fight this creature off with his sword, that an inexperienced Watcher with a spear in his hands wouldn't stand a chance. He let everything else fade away and concentrated on nothing but the fight in front of him.

Maddy saw her coming. They all did. She was like a blur and for a moment they wondered what she was, and if she meant them harm. Then Giles let out another cry as a blow from the creature almost knocked the sword from his hand. As he tried to find his grip again he saw the blow coming that would end his life. Giles knew he wouldn't get his sword up in time. With one last thought of Buffy, and an acute sense of sorrow that he had failed to protect these people he watched the claws descend.

End of Part 5