The rain poured down.
Outside it was another grey and rainy London day. The weather had been like this for over a week. If it went on any longer arks would have to be built. The sky was so low overhead it was like you could reach up and touch it. It really was one of those days.
Inside his office at the British Museum, Rupert Giles was oblivious to the British weather. All his attention was on a book that was before him.
It was an old tome. Newly arrived from Eastern Europe to form part of a display on medieval languages. The book was not open though. Giles was pouring over the illustration on the front cover. The leather was cracked and worn, but the images were still crystal clear. Depicted in gold leaf and ruby red ink were scenes of death and destruction, the end of mankind. Written across the book was the word - VAMPYR.
In the distance was the sounds of footsteps as the tourists and visitors gaped at the dinosaur displays and the screams of children running about. Giles was oblivious to it all. All his attention was on the book. His lips moved slightly as he muttered to himself, words that hadn't been spoken for hundreds of years.
Hail pattered against the window of his office breaking his concentration. "Damn." He muttered. Hours of time wasted. He would have to begin again. He glanced up at the window. The sky was getting darker, either a huge storm or it was getting late. He was not sure.
Giles' office was at the very top of the building at the end of dark long, dark corridors and up steep flights of steps. Because it was so inaccessible, he did not get many visitors. He liked it that way, it meant he could get on with his work in peace and solitude.
He stood up and stretched, he had been sitting for many hours and was
quite stiff. He went over to the little electric kettle and clicked it
on, then when it boiled made himself a cup of Gold Blend. As he
returned
to his desk and sat down there was a tap on the door.
"Come in."
The head of one of the student helpers poked round the door.
"I'm sorry to bother you, sir." She began apologetically. "This came
for
you in the post, it got lost down the back of the desk and I've only
just found it." Her arm snaked round the door and in her hand was an
airmail letter. "I hope it's not important."
Giles took the letter off her. "You can come in you know."
"I don't want to bother you. You always look so busy."
"Oh. Well thank you for bringing this up to me. And don't worry, it's
probably not important."
The girl smiled shyly. "OK, 'bye." She closed the door behind her.
Giles looked at the postmark. It was dated for just over a month ago. But what caught his eye was were it was from. "I don't know anyone from Los Angeles." He muttered to himself. He opened the envelope and pulled out the single piece of paper that was inside. Then he sat down, heavily.
The letter read:
'Dear Giles,
I am sorry that I have to write to you, because it means that I have
failed. By the time you get this letter it will be too late to help me,
I will be Another who will fade into the anonymity of history.
You have trained for a long time and now we will see whether that
training is enough. My protégé is young but very, very strong.
However, I am afraid for her. She is very new to her destiny but
already she has caused enough trouble to bring her to the attention of
those we fight.
You must travel to a small American town called Sunnydale. It is a
very
nice place, a school, shops and the entrance to the Hellmouth.
You can understand my dilemma, it is her destiny to go there but on her
own she will surely fail.
I have great faith in you, Giles. You will carry on where I have left
off, and I know you will do it well.
Good Luck
Merrick.'
Giles folded the letter up and put it back into the envelope. He sat staring at the VAMPYR tome for a long, long time. He knew he would have to go to America, he was tied as tightly to his destiny as Merrick's young Slayer was.
His father has been a Watcher as had his grandfather. He had their journals. He had learnt from their mistakes. But was he ready? "I have no choice." He muttered.
He walked over to a large bookcase that filled one wall of his office
and started to take the books off the shelf.
"Into every generation, a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world.
A
Chosen One. One born with the strength and the skill to hunt the
Vampires, to stop their spread of evil. . . ." he trailed off. "The
Hellmouth." He whispered. He realised why that was so important. The
Hellmouth was the gateway between this world and the demon equivalent
of
Hell. It was a weak spot, a place were supernatural occurrences were
an
everyday happening. A place where evil is drawn too. Not a nice place
at all. Now he understood Merrick's worries.
So much to prepare, so little time.
* * *
Five days later.
Giles pulled up in front of Sunnydale High School. The place was deserted. Well it was the summer break. He had got into Sunnydale the night before and had already sorted himself out with rented accommodation. Now he was trying to get a job.
It seemed too good to be true that the school was advertising for a new Librarian. He parked the car, locked it and walked up the steps into the school.
An hour later.
He had the job.
All too easy. Was his destiny so pre-ordained? He wondered whether one day he would find his life written word for word in a dusty, mouldering tome. He suppressed the thought and turned his mind back to the present. He would begin work in two weeks, but first of all he had to get acquainted with the Library. The previous Librarian had vanished. Possibly something to do with the type of folk the Hellmouth attracted?
Giles wasn't sure. However, after spending ten minutes in the library he knew that the last Librarian had been a Watcher. There was a hidden back room that was full of ancient texts, a lot of which Giles had always thought were lost. His own collection would be arriving in the next few days.
It was the Armoury that intrigued and worried Giles. There were a vast amount of stakes, a cross bow and bolts, throwing stars, silver tipped arrows, holy water and religious icons, plus a number of weapons her couldn't place, but he was sure he would end up knowing intimately after he found the padded body armour.
* * *
The next morning, a large manila envelope came in the post. He ignored the fact that no one knew where he lived. The post mark was so blurred on it that he couldn't tell where it came from. It was also very large. When he opened it he found a thick file in Merrick's handwriting, some typed sheets and a video.
He put the video on. It was a news report. A pretty, blonde reporter stood in front of a large burning building. "The fire began during the middle of the school dance and swept through the building. Students at the dance report a gang smashing into the school gym and randomly attacking them. It is not known whether this attack is gang related. A formal statement will be released by the school tomorrow. . ."
The screen fuzzed for a second and another news report started.
Giles turned his attention to a collection of news clippings that was in the files. They were all concerned with the gym fire some of them stating that it was a student of the school who started the fire and could not be named for legal reasons and that that student had been expelled. Giles started to worry again.
While the tape carried on playing in the background, with yet another story of the fire Giles looked though the file.
He found Merrick's file on his young Slayer. He was surprised that she
was so young, but times were changing and if the Slayer was needed it
did not really matter how old she was.
"Buffy Summers. . . 16, called at 15 . . . oh, so young. . ."
He read about her training and her Slaying activities in LA. He also read about her reluctance to be a Slayer. Surely by now she would be used to the idea. He knew she wouldn't, they never were. He pitied the Slayers, no friends, in danger of dying every night, having to keep their real life so secret from everyone, including their families. He sometimes wondered why Slayer were not orphans, it would make life a lot easier.
He carried on reading through the files. After an hour of reading he felt he knew his new charge intimately, but written words could not express what a person was really like. It was then that he found the photo of her.
Even Giles could appreciate that she was pretty. She was small, slim with dirty blonde shoulder-length hair. She wasn't smiling in the picture and her eyes looked so angry. Giles didn't know why. In her he could see past Slayers, in the way she held herself, the set of her chin.
He put the files down, switched off the video and rubbed his eyes. He was worn out. He had been so busy in the last few days, but now everything was sorted out he could afford to rest for a little while. There was nothing more he could do until this Buffy started school. He couldn't go up to her in the street, a public scene would not be the best way to introduce themselves.
No, he would wait until term started.
Buffy Summers, vampire Slayer.
Well, it'll be interesting at least, he thought to himself. Yes, it will definitely be interesting.