A Dangerous World
By PassionFish
A/N –
Firstly a BIG thanks to my beta,
Marsters’ Girl for beta-ing this fiction!
Secondly, this fiction deals with some
aspects of war. I will try to make
these references as obscure as possible but if you are sensitive to such
matters please be warned.
Chapter One – First Steps
Twelve hours ago, Buffy
Summers had been happily spending her hard-earned cash on a double chocolate
frothy mocha. Blissfully unaware, as she gossiped to her best friend, Willow,
that the next twenty-four hours would change her life forever.
There was a war going on.
Or at least, there had been
for the last six hours.
A real war this time. Not
just a 'we bomb them, they do nothing to us' kind of a war, but an all out
'hey, where the hell did those bombs come from and how did they manage to land
all the way over here' kind of a war.
Seven hours ago President
Carter had announced that combined American/British forces were moving forward
with the war schedule, and currently, they were at war.
Seven hours ago, no one was
worried.
Then, six hours ago
retaliation had hit.
The war had truly begun.
Who the opposing side was,
no one really knew. Just that they were big, they were bad.....and they were
after us.
Everyone in Sunnyvale had
been relocated to 'safe' warehouses on the outskirts of the town. The idea
being that, people couldn't freak out too much if they were contained.
The free coffee, juice, and
cakes kept coming and people huddled together, hoping the next hit wouldn't be
them.....or anyone they loved.
Buffy smiled over at her
mother, then looked absently around the mall in which they had been placed.
Apparently it had amazing foundations or something, and was more likely to
withstand the aftershocks of another hit, should another hit happen.
All the shops had been
closed off, but their window-lights were on. The childrens’ play areas were
wide open, as were all the cafes and restaurants, giving people a place to sit.
Buffy's foot tapped
restlessly, anxious to be up and moving.
"Sweetie, why don't you go have a look
around, take your mind off things......I'm sure we'll be home in a few
hours." Joyce's positive voice broke into Buffy's absent thoughts, and she
looked up at her mother. Though her voice appeared truthful, her eyes told a
different story.
Not wanting to freak her
mother out anymore than she obviously already was, Buffy nodded,
"Okay - maybe I'll see
if that skirt I wanted is still up."
Joyce smiled, and sighed in
relief, hoping that her anxiousness hadn’t spilled over to her daughter.
Buffy pushed back her metal
chair, and set down her foam coffee-filled cup.
"Be back in a
bit." She murmured perfunctorily as she left her bag, and moved to wander
around the mall.
---
Children were everywhere;
she didn't realize Sunnydale had
this many children in its populace.
They were all excited at
being up past their bedtime, few apparently realizing the reason behind this
eerie phenomenon.
Buffy's eyes absently scanned the bright shop
window, her eyes glazing over as she passed the seemingly endless make-up,
clothing, and toy shops the mall had to offer.
In huddled corners or at
open restaurant tables adults sat, trying to put on brave faces for their
children or loved ones. All murmuring their fear about a possible attack....and
whether or not they were really safe here; or just sitting ducks.
Everything was so bright and
everyone was so loud. Her head felt like it was splitting open. She just needed
some place to sit where it was quiet.
She continued to wonder, her
legs bringing her further and further from the general population, until she
found herself at the back of the mall.
Everyone seemed so far away
as she glanced into the dark hallway in front of her.
"Neeeeeeeeeaaaaaawwwwwwwwww!"
She jumped in shock as a
couple of kids ran past her, giggling and playing what appeared to be a game of
airplane.
She scowled half-heatedly at
them, but the extra noise only prompted her to explore the darkened hallway
even further- if only for her headache's sake.
Grateful for the quiet and
dimmed lights, Buffy continued down the hallway, looking for a place to sit
where she could recuperate before going back to find her mom.
At the bottom of the hallway
she spotted a low light at the end of corridor, and moved towards it, her
inquisitive nature getting the better of her.
*Well, got nothing better to
do.*
As she neared the source of
light, she found it to be coming from an ajar door. Carefully she pushed it
open further and gasped at what she saw.
The room was huge, only
appearing more so by the enormous globe that sat in the center of the room.
"Hello?" She
called softly, not wanting to disturb the ambiance of the room.
When she heard no answer,
she walked in a bit more. As more of the room became available to her she found
her source of light.
One of the walls of the room
was made solely of glass. A full moon shone brightly in the dark night sky,
giving the room an ethereal glow.
Green eyes gazed out to the
starry sky, wondering how something so beautiful could be seen from such a
corrupt world.
"An
hour ago American and British troops marched into hostile territory..."
"...the
mayor has asked that everyone move to their allotted safe houses..."
"...everyone
should stay calm...."
"...it'll
all be over soon...."
With a sigh, Buffy moved
from the window and smiled at the globe. Her eyes automatically sought out
California; what she later thought had to be a normal human reaction to such a
stimulus.
Delicate fingers reached
forward, brushing over where she thought Sunnydale might be.
As her fingers made contact
with the foam globe, her world dropped out from beneath her. With a half-muted
scream she fell into darkness....
To Be Continued........
You are reader number:
since 28th Aug 03!